The Broken Road
by Fatherfail
Summary: Strange things are happening in Fiore. Clocks are running out of control, windstorms are more power, the sun is hotter, vegetation is dying, and worst of all, murders. Some believe a group of wizard hunters is on the prowl. Meanwhile, two mages leave home, only to be captured by a dark guild. Meanwhile, the goddesses are up to something. AU and OC story. OCs wanted, canon included.
1. Killer in the Night

**Here's a new story for you guys! I apologize for not uploading the last chapter of Dragon Myth yet. I actually have it finished, but for some reason the internet is not working on the laptop I have it on. I'm currently on vacation in LA so I'll probably have a lot of time to write and such. Well, this is an OC story as usual, and we have some characters that may seem…unexpected? I'm not sure how to put it. Anyways, enjoy the first chapter. **

**Arcana, king's private study**

It was nighttime in Fiore, but the lamp still burned within the king's private study. An old man* sat behind the large wooden desk, looking over several sheets of paper and writing things on notepads and such. He was dressed in a dark red robe, like he was about to go to sleep. He looked like any other old man, but he was different. He was King Peter II, or "Paco". He was a hardworking king, working even harder at the recent events that had plagued his empire. Many blamed it on Paco's father, Drake the Defiler, the king who forged the massive empire Paco now governed. Paco disagreed. He knew that his father had atoned for whatever sins he had committed.

Whatever the cause, the events Paco was reading made no sense at all and didn't seem to be of much concern. In recent events, windstorms were much more powerful, the sun was much hotter than before, the vegetation died in random areas, clocks seemed to run slower and faster, and the most troubling of all, a string of murders. The king sat back in his chair and thought about the last event. Murders were nothing to light, and the death penalty was active for any murderer caught. However, there was something similar about all the murders. They all took place at night, in forests, and all targeted people who were younger. The old king frowned and called out to his guard outside his door.

"I want Makarov and Vector** in my office by tomorrow." ordered Paco as he picked up a piece of paper he hadn't seen before.

It was a document asking for a name change. It looked completely normal, but the name caught his eye. Paco had been well tutored in history, and this name was one of the biggest in history. The family wanted to change their name _back _to Flarina, the surname of the last royal family of Fiore.

…

**Forest near Crocus **

Dark outside and the crickets chirped as a young woman walked down the path, towards Crocus. She held what appeared to be a tennis racket in her hand and was dressed in all white. She had on a red headband and her hair was blonde and tied into a ponytail. She was smiling and walked through the forest. It was a nice night, and the sound of crickets gave her a calm feeling. She had just finished playing a match of tennis and she had forgotten that it was getting dark, forcing her to cut through the forest to get home in time.

The dirt path was worn down because of all the people that had used it, and it appeared black because of how dark it was. Surprisingly, nobody was travelling right now and the woman just shrugged as she continued on through the forest.

…

The shadowed figure hiding behind the tree smiled as he peeked around the tree. She has heading right towards him. The shadows kept him perfectly hidden and he smiled once again as he thought of what would happen when she passed him. The man's features were hidden by the shadows and he shuddered with excitement as he watched the woman walk right past him, the man stepping out from behind the tree. He walked silently, and grabbed the woman in a headlock.

"I've got you now."

…

**There's the short prologue. This is an OC story so feel free to send OCs. The form will be down below. Oh, and if you are reading this, Blaze and Ed, send me OCs from the Ryuusaga and Tsubasa family. **

**References: *Paco is old because his dad was only 30 or so during To Solice and Back. Drake died when he was 96. Paco would have to be more than 66 years old. **

**** Goldfinger retired from being guild master of Illuminati. Vector runs it now. **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the short prologue and here's the OC form. **

**Name:**

**Age:**

**Appearance:**

**Personality:**

**History:**

**Magic and abilities:**

**Likes:**

**Dislikes:**

**Other:**

**There's also another form on my profile so if you want to, you can use that one as well. I will see you all later! FF**


	2. Key in the Lock part 1

**Here we are with the second chapter. It was difficult to get this chapter planned out, but I finally found out how to do it. I haven't picked out the OCs yet, and this chapter is just to set the story up. Anyways, here's the chapter. Enjoy.**

The woman acted quickly, smashing her elbow into the man's stomach, the man letting out a cry of pain as he stumbled back, letting the woman go. The man tried to say something, but the woman smashed her tennis racket across the man's face, sending him tumbling on the ground. The man groaned in pain, and grabbed his jaw as he looked up at the blonde haired girl.

"A-Athena…" groaned the man as the woman looked surprised.

Her name was indeed Athena, but how did he know? She looked at the man some more, and the moonlight fell on his face. Her eyes widened in surprise. She knew him! Athena instantly knelt down and tried to help the man up, the attacker grunting as she hoisted him up.

"S-sorry. I didn't mean to scare you that much." apologized the man as Athena sighed.

She had been lucky. The "attacker" was only her childhood friend, Justin Silence. The two walked down the dirt path, Crocus appearing in front of them. The city's lights were comforting to both of them as Justin tried to explain everything.

"I was just trying to give you a little scare before our big adventure, you know?" explained Justin as Athena just frowned at him.

"I understand that, but seriously, if you're going to scare me, don't do it in a forest when it's dark! You know people have been dying in the forest!" scolded Athena as the man dressed in all black nodded his head.

Despite almost giving him a broken jaw, Athena smiled at Justin. The black haired boy returned it, blushing slightly. It was true that their big adventure would be starting soon. The two of them were mages, and their first little "mission" would be starting tomorrow. It was the first time that Athena had ever been able to go and do a mission. Athena let down her hair and started running towards the city, calling to Justin who was surprised to see her running.

"Let's race! First one to your house is a rotten egg!" she shouted as Justin ran after her, trying to catch up.

The adventure was about to start, and with it, a chain of events that could change their lives forever.

**Fairy Tail**

The legendary guild of Fairy Tail hadn't changed much. It was still noisy, messy, and destructive as usual. The guild's large wooden building overlooked Magnolia, one of the largest cities in Fiore. Within the huge building, was a lunchroom with a few people hanging around inside. One of them was a pink haired middle aged man, munching on what appeared to be a burning stick. Next to him was a man wearing almost no clothes besides his pants, his expression on of dislike towards the pink haired man. The final person sitting at the table was a blonde haired woman around their age, holding a silver key in her hand. She was laughing and the pink haired man looked up, having devoured his burning stick.

"Oi, when's our next mission? Erza still hasn't returned from her big mission with the other S-Classes, and I can't fight Gildartz or gramps either." asked Natsu as Gray shook his head.

"Just cool it, flame brain. We'll have plenty of missions later. What I want to know is why gramps decided to leave the guild for Arcana all of a sudden. I thought all of our debts had been paid? Gray asked as Lucy shrugged her shoulders.

Natsu snorted and tapped the lunch table, making a sneaky face as he did so.

"I heard that gramps is meeting with the king about that group of wizard hunters that suddenly appeared. I mean, it makes sense, right?" Natsu, Lucy making a face of disbelief and Gray just scoffing.

"Are you sure, Natsu? I mean, a group of wizard hunters? That seems a little farfetched. Who would hunt wizards? Don't we help the world?" Lucy said as Natsu shrugged.

Gray was about to say something when suddenly, the doors to the guild opened, and Makarov walked in, a sour look on his face. He was holding a folder in his hand. Natsu spotted him and called him over, the ancient guild master walking over to them.

"What's going on gramps? Why did you leave for the capital?" Gray asked as Makarov sighed.

"It looks like his majesty doesn't appreciate our methods. I had to sit through an entire recitation of the Lex Gario*." sighed Makarov as he turned to go to his office.

As the guild master walked away, Lucy noticed the folder he was holding. It was a manila folder and it looked moderately thin, a few papers poking out of the folder. It was stamped with the seal of the Garlan Empire.

"Uh, Makarov, what's that you have there?" asked Lucy as Makarov continued to walk.

"It's classified. You'll learn about it soon enough." replied Makarov tiredly as he entered his office and the door closed behind him.

But the group of three mages was still curious. What was in the folder? What made it so classified? They didn't know that there were some secrets better left untold.

**?**

The air was hazy, and Justin opened his eyes, startled by where he was. The young man scratched his head as he looked around. Wherever he looked, it was a hazy void. He was wearing what he had gone to sleep in, black t-shirt and black shorts. For some reason, his jaw hurt. Justin was rubbing his jaw when he realized what had happened.

He had played the prank on Athena, got beat up, and then went home. Justin looked around and then shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea where he was. Justin sighed as he sat down on the ground.

"I know what you're thinking, and I can relate."

Justin was startled by the voice and jumped up in surprise as a figure came out of the haze, dressed in loose white pants and a white coat. He had on a white head cloth that did a bad job at hiding his jet black hair, and he held a metal cane in his right hand. His expression was sympathetic. Justin just looked at him, stunned. He really didn't know what to think about this stranger in this strange place.

"A-are you me in the future? Is this all just a dream?" Justin asked as the stranger smiled.

"No, I am not your future self, but this _is _a dream. However, take this dream seriously. Dreams are often messages left by the goddesses. I must introduce myself before we continue. My name is Julius Silence, and I have something important to say to you, Justin." said Julius as Justin looked sort of freaked out.

"Uh, Julius Silence, like _the _Julius Silence?" Justin asked as Julius nodded his head, Justin looking at him in disbelief.

Julius tapped his cane, and the haze disappeared, replaced by Fairy Tail. They were standing in front of the gates and Justin just looked at the gates in amazement. Julius looked at Justin in amusement.

"You wish to join Fairy Tail in the future. Tell me, do you have the lacrima that your grandfather gave you?" asked Julius as Justin nodded, "Good, hold onto it. It may help you in the future."

The cane was tapped again, and this time, they were inside Athena's room, Justin growing red as Julius looked at the girl sleeping in the bed. Julius pointed to Athena and smiled.

"You're very different from her, Justin. I was the same with my friends and my father. It bothers you that you are so different, and can not find common ground with her. However, you believe that this adventure you are about to go on will change that. You're right, but you must be careful." said Julius wisely as Justin took one last look at Athena before being transported back to the haze.

"So, is that it?" asked Justin as Julius nodded.

The Hero of Silence started to fade away, but before he did, he gave Justin one more piece of advice.

"Take the lacrima with you. I believe that it will make your adventure much more fun, and all the more bonding."

…

Justin woke up the next morning, on the floor of his room. He got up and looked around his room. Nothing much had changed, and Justin browsed through his clothes and smiled when he remembered that it was time for the adventure. He decided to wear brown cargo shorts and wore a grey t-shirt over it. He brushed his teeth, showered, and ran outside, his breakfast already made by his mom. Justin and Athena lived near the city gates, so leaving the city would not take much time at all.

On the way out, Justin opened the wooden box on the living room table that held the strange little lacrima that had been given to him by his grandfather. He put it in his pocket and ran out the door, smelling the fresh air in Crocus and looked next door to see Athena swinging her sword at one of her wooden targets. Justin walked towards the swordswoman and watched as she swung the sword and cut the head off of one of the targets. The wooden head dropped to the ground and rolled away as Athena put the sword back in its sheath and looked at Justin.

"Well, that wasn't very princess like." joked Justin as Athena laughed and walked towards the city exit, Justin following her.

"I'm not exactly a princess anymore. I mean, my last name isn't legally 'Flarina' yet." said Athena as Justin shrugged and smiled, the two standing in front of the city exit.

The two looked at the wilderness ahead of them and they both grinned. They looked at each other and nodded.

"Let the adventure begin!"

…

**This is actually part 1 of 2. I had to split the chapter because I thought I was putting too much content in it. I apologize if this was dull because this is actually the set up for the next chapter and so forth.**

**References: *The Lex Gario is the body of laws in the Garlan Empire. **

**Anyways, we learned that Athena was a Flarina, and that Justin was a Silence. It feels good to be working with two families that I had a lot of fun writing about in the past. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I will see you all later. FF**


	3. Key in the Lock part 2

**Alright, here we go with the third chapter. I'll try to update every story today because I feel like I am falling behind. I'll try to get the last chapter of Dragon Myth uploaded as soon as possible, but it doesn't look like that will work out because the internet doesn't want to go through with the laptop. I'm actually sort of busy today so I don't know if I can actually get chapters up, but I'll try. **

**I really didn't like how this chapter turned out. Also, it doesn't look like I can actually upload the chapters for the other stories today. Sorry, but I got really busy with other things. **

**Here's the chapter. Enjoy. **

_Justin and Athena started their adventure, hoping to see amazing sights. The two mages used very different types of magic. Athena was a sword mage, using magical and ordinary swords to deal damage. Her personal goal was to collect all ten of the Wrathful Swords, swords that held incredible abilities. On the other hand, Justin used fire magic. His goal was to join Fairy Tail and hopefully become a successful mage, like his parents before him. _

_The two were heading towards Magnolia, the city where Fairy Tail was situated. There, they would look for jobs anybody needed done, and Justin and Athena would apply for Fairy Tail. From then on, they would take jobs until they could compete in the S-Class trials. However, as they walked the path to Magnolia, dark guild members were stalking them, waiting for the right moment to strike… _

The road to Magnolia is long, filled with forests, villages, and long grass plains. Currently, Athena and Justin were walking through one of the forests on the way to Magnolia. It was a well known fact that dark guilds were often situated in the forest, and that rogue mercenary armies travelled through the forest, forcing anyone they found to join them. However, Athena and Justin were willing to take the risks.

Unfortunately, fate had dealt them a bad hand. A group of bandits was hanging out near the trees, keeping watch in case any soldiers came. There were three of them, each one wearing a black bandana that went around their neck. One of them was missing several teeth, a scraggly grey beard going down his dirty grey shirt. Another was holding a twisted iron bar, wearing a black jacket and blue jeans. He was keeping track of the road. The last bandit was hidden behind a tree, chewing on something. He had a baseball bat and it was stained black with dried blood.

"Ey, I think we got something, George." said the bandit with the iron bar as the bandit with the baseball bat came out from behind the tree, adjusting his bandana.

George grinned and scratched his brown hair as he looked at the bandit with the grey beard.

"Beardy, show Henry how it's done." grinned George as the bandit with the beard nodded his head, the three bandits hiding behind trees.

The bandits were completely hidden, and they watched as Athena and Justin passed by, Beardy coming from behind the trees. The bandit named George grinned as Beardy slammed the two mage's heads together, Henry and George coming out of the trees and looking down at the two.

"They didn't even know what hit them." laughed George as he spit on the ground and grabbed Justin.

…

"Wake up, Justin!"

Athena's voice brought Justin back into the real world, the black haired mage shaking his head, trying to figure out where he was. His head pounded as he looked around the room. The room was made of dirty wood, and was empty besides a box in the middle of the room. There was a door right in front of them, and the door looked to be extremely old. The air smelled damp, like the entire room had recently been filled with water. The wood on the floor was slimy, and algae could be seen in certain places.

"W-what? What's going on? Where are we?" Justin asked as he rubbed his head, trying to figure out what was going on.

There was the sound of something moving outside of the room, and Athena made the motion to be quiet. Once everything had quieted down, they could hear the sound of many people talking at once. But there was the sound of three outside the door. Their arms were tied, but their feet were not, so Justin walked up to the keyhole in the door, and peeked through it.

Three bandits were on the other side of the door, sitting at a table and eating food. The other room didn't look much better than the room where Athena and Justin were. The bandits were eating and talking about their "master" and other things that sounded like suspicious guild activity. Justin moved away from the door and sat back against the wall, thinking about what he had just seen and heard. Athena asked what he had seen, and Justin quickly told her, the sword mage quickly piecing it together.

"They're a dark guild, Justin! They probably want to sell us to those mercenary armies! We have to get out right now!" said Athena urgently as she started to pick away at the wood in the room.

"Calm down! We have to think about this! We can't just go rushing out! What if there are more?" whispered Justin as Athena stopped and sat back against the wood, a defeated look on her face.

It looked as if Athena was about to say something, when suddenly there was a commotion outside of the door. There was a series of curses and then the sound of a sword being drawn. Justin froze in fear, but Athena charged ahead to the door, to see what was going. The bandits had left the table, but one was standing in front of the door. His face couldn't be seen, but he was holding what appeared to be a pistol.

"Get back! I'll kill you, bastard!" he roared as the pistol shot rang throughout the room, Justin letting out a frightened shout at the loud noise, Athena grimacing.

There was a squishy noise as the bandit fell to the ground, his blood spraying across the floor. The sound of boots sounded on the wooden floor, and Athena had to cover her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She saw a figure walk by the door, hand passing by the keyhole. Athena was about to move away from the door and tell Justin had what happened, when another man appeared, his blood red eyes staring straight at Athena. The eyes passed on, Athena's heart slamming in her throat as she moved back quietly, shaking from what she had just seen.

Justin was shaking in fear, and Athena tried to tell him what had happened, but he wouldn't respond. The sound of boots disappeared, and Athena's breathing returned to normal, her heart slowing down as she breathed in and out, trying to stay calm. Justin stopped shaking and looked around the damp room, trying to figure out what was going on. He slowly stood, walking up to the door, and trying to open the door with his hands. It was locked, but he started to put pressure on the door, and it crumbled easily.

"C-come on…" whispered Justin as the two stepped out into the room.

It was an awful sight. The three bandits were dead, stab wounds all over their bodies. Blood covered the floor and Justin threw up at the sight of the bandit who held the pistol, his throat cut. The two maneuvered around the bodies carefully, and found a nail that was sticking out of the wood. They used it to cut their ropes and Athena looked around the room, and then back at Justin. Her eyes were scared, and her voice was shaking.

"I saw them, Justin. One of them looked right at me! We need to go, _now. _We have to tell Fairy Tail about this!" she said as Justin nodded his head quickly.

"Y-yeah, let's get out of here!" Justin said frantically as he ran out the door, Athena following him close behind.

The two mages were ran, leaving the wooden buildings behind, the screams coming from the buildings propelling them towards Fairy Tail. They had to report this to Makarov.

**Fairy Tail **

Thankfully, the rest of the way to Magnolia was normal. The two mages were still a little bit shaken up, but the sight of the beautiful city calmed them. The outdoors market was busy as usual, and the legendary Fairy Tail guild awaited them at the top of a large hill. Despite having seen several dead people just a few minutes ago, Justin trembled with excitement. He had always wanted to join Fairy Tail, and now his dream was about to come true!

"This is going to be so awesome!" shouted Justin in excitement as Athena smiled, walking up the hill.

The two mages walked up the hill, and finally arrived at the wooden doors of Fairy Tail. Justin grabbed the door handle and pulled the doors open, looking in awe at how beautiful the guild was. Athena was looking as well, but as soon as the doors opened, a sandwich had actually hit her in the face. Thankfully, nothing had spilled on her, and the two continued into the guild. Justin was having the time of his life, looking at all the people in the guild, and Athena was in awe as well.

The guild was loud, messy, and was filled with people, but the two managed to squeeze through. They headed for Makarov's office and knocked on the door. The door opened by itself and Makarov was sitting in his desk, reading a newspaper. He noticed the two mages and looked up, grinning.

"Hello, and welcome to Fairy Tail!" he shouted cheerfully.

Makarov motioned for them to sit, and Justin and Athena sat in the two chairs that were in front of Makarov's desk. The door closed behind them, the office growing strangely quiet, like it was a soundproof room. Makarov put the paper away and looked at the two.

"What brings you to Fairy Tail, strangers?" he asked, Justin gripping the chair arm tightly as he thought about what had happened.

"We want to join Fairy Tail, but…we have to tell you something." said Justin sadly as Makarov raised an eyebrow at Justin's words.

"Tell me about what?" Makarov asked, Athena taking over.

"We were actually taken captive by a dark guild a while before we got here. We thought we would be sold to a mercenary army, but instead, two people entered the dark guild….and slaughtered everyone." explained Athena darkly as Makarov nodded his head.

Athena described what one of the men looked like, and Makarov looked surprised when she finished. Justin watched as Makarov nodded his head slowly, and took something out of his desk, showing it to the two mages.

"You've been accepted into the guild, however, you cannot leave until Team Natsu returns from their mission. I know who you saw in that dark guild. His name is Hudson*, and he's a dangerous rogue mage. He often worked alone, so I have no idea who the other person is. Also, I believe there is someone you should meet. There is someone else that has seen something strange as well." said Makarov as he gave the paper to Justin.

Justin folded the paper and put it in his pocket, and Makarov stood, opening the door to his office and stepping out into the noisy guild. Athena and Justin followed him, and Makarov pointed towards a lunch table in the very corner of the guild. One person sat at it, dressed in ragged looking camo t-shirt with black pants and black boots. His brown hair was messy, and he was watching the guild with a blank look on his face.

"His name is Mitsu. He saw something interesting as well. Maybe he'll tell you something," Makarov said helpfully as Justin thanked him, and the two mages made their way towards the mage named Mitsu.

Could he really help them? What did he see?

***Mitsu POV***

I was watching the guild member's activities when they came up to me. They were a strange pair. One was a girl, the other was a boy. The boy was a little older than me, wearing a grey t-shirt with some dirt smudges, and he had a smile on his face. The girl was blonde, hair tied into a pony tail with a red headband around her forehead. She was dressed in white, although the clothes were smudged with dirt, and she was smiling at me. I gave them the usual look.

"What is it? You have business with me?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Makarov said that you saw something strange. Oh, we're new in the guild by the way. My name is Athena, and that is Justin." said the blonde cheerfully as Justin waved.

I nodded my head and the two of them sat down at the table. I usually didn't like the company, but they didn't seem snoopy at all. They told me what they saw first, and to be honest, I was a little surprised. What I saw didn't even compare to what they had seen.

"You saw two killers killing dark mages? They killed the entire guild?" I asked as they nodded, "Well, what I saw was a burning field, a man walking out of the fire, completely unharmed. He was carrying a double bladed sword and he looked right at me, like he was challenging me. I got out of there as soon as I could." said Mitsu.

"What do you think these events mean? I mean, does this have to do with all the windstorms, the sun getting hotter, and stuff like that?" Justin asked Mitsu shrugged.

"I don't know, but to tell you the truth, if it really does have to with all of this, I'm staying as far away as I can. Those people we saw, they're bad news, Really, _really _bad news."

**Arcana, The Fortress **

The palace was unusually quiet, not many people were stirring. The soldiers were all outside, training, and the maids and servants had gone to do other things. They only place where life truly stirred was the gardens, where Paco sat, observing ants carrying leaves to their mound. The king enjoyed the garden, and he often spent hours looking at all the creatures within it. Paco was still watching ants when he heard his son call out to him.

"Father, we found some dead people, a lot of dead people."

The king turned to see his son walking towards him, his brown hair filled with clumps of dirt. He was a tall young man, much taller than his father, and he was wearing his armor, his sword by his side. His eyes were filled with urgency, and Paco nodded.

"How many did you find?" the king asked, trying to hide the sadness in his voice.

"An entire guild, at least fifty were dead. Father, I need answers. Please, I have to know what is going on!" pleaded the prince as Paco nodded his head and turned to look at his son.

"Darius**, you know the ancient stories of this land. If you can remember the story, its title was _The_ _Court of Nine_." said Paco calmly as the prince grew frustrated and impatient.

"Yes, father, I know, But how does that relate to what is happening?" he asked, Paco looking him in the eye.

"These events signal only one thing: the judging of the magical world by the Court of Nine***."

…

**Quite a long chapter, this one. One OC appeared so far, Lunar Blaze's OC, and I will be implementing more later in the story. This chapter took a while to figure out, and I think it was a little weird. Let me know what you think. **

**References: *This Hudson is a character you haven't seen before. He's the original Hudson that I created for Hudson Story. **

****This is Darius II, not the first Darius**

*****The Court of Nine is just the name given by those who live in Fiore. The people of the other continents have different names for the group.**

**I hope this chapter was alright, and the other OCs will be appearing soon! FF**


	4. Dark Ruins

**Here we are with the next chapter. I promise that I'll get at least the new SE chapter up today. I'm still kinda busy today, so I apologize if nothing goes as planned. The funny thing is, I received two pairs of twins, and I thought that was sort of funny. There isn't anything else left to say, so let's get this chapter started. Enjoy.**

_Athena and Justin had joined Fairy Tail. There, they met a mage named Mitsu who told the two mages that he had seen someone coming out of a burning field. Athena and Justin had witnessed the slaughter of an entire dark guild, and they believed that the two strange events could possibly be connected. _

_Meanwhile, Team Natsu was on an important mission. Erza had returned from her mission with the other S-Class mages, and the team left the guild to do an important mission. They were told to investigate ruins for powerful bandits. However, upon reaching the ruins, they found no bandits. As the legendary Team Natsu investigated further, they discovered a tunnel system. Where did these tunnels lead?_

**?**

Erza led the way through the dark tunnels, carrying a torch. The famous team had been told to investigate some ruins, but they didn't find much. Lucy and Natsu followed close behind Erza with Gray at the very back, watching for anything that could attack from behind. Their footsteps echoed through the tunnels as they walked through the bare stone tunnels, the air chilly in the deep tunnels.

"Just how far do these tunnels go? I mean, why would anyone bother to build a system of tunnels like this?" Lucy asked as they continued on the way, footsteps echoing through the empty tunnels.

Natsu shrugged. To be honest, the fire dragon slayer didn't really care. He was looking forward to fighting some strong opponents, but he had been disappointed when no bandits appeared in the ruins.

"I really don't know, but I'm looking forward to some strong opponents at the end of the tunnel!" Natsu said, Gray snorting.

"Cool it, tabasco idiot. If there are people down here, they probably already know we're coming because of all the noise you're making." said Gray as Natsu glared at him.

"What was that, popsicle? Want to fight about this?" challenged Natsu as Gray glared back at him.

The two were so busy shouting insults at each other that they didn't notice that Erza had come over. Natsu and Gray were in the middle of a shouting match when Gray noticed the torch that was right next to him. Natsu quickly noticed and the two instantly jumped away from each other, laughing nervously. Erza's stare was enough for the two mages to be quiet for the entire way through the tunnel, only Lucy and Wendy having permission to talk.

The tunnels seemed to extend forever, but they finally reached the end, coming to a large stone chamber, built almost like a throne room. There was a hole in the stone ceiling, allowing light to filter through, and Lucy stepped into the center of the light, looking around the chamber in amazement. It was incredible! The group of Fairy Tail mages explored the chamber for a while, looking at the nine thrones carved from stone at the back of the chamber, and Erza noticed something strange.

The chamber looked almost like a courtroom. The thrones carved from stone were elevated over the floor, and a tenth throne sat at the very center of the nine, overlooking the floor. Almost all the thrones were completely demolished and the floor cracked, but something about the chamber reminded Erza of a courtroom. The Fairy Tail mages were about to leave when Wendy noticed something carved into the wall of the chamber.

The sky dragon slayer looked at the faded carving and tried to make out what it said, reading it carefully. Natsu and Gray noticed what Wendy had found and went over to see what it was. Lucy and Erza followed, the whole team observing the carvings in the wall. Wendy read it out loud, and it seemed that it was some sort of poem?

_The first is fueled by the taking of lives, adding them to his collection of souls._

_The second is born from the burning fields, relishing in the burning flames. _

_The third is flexible, bending and twisting like the wind. _

_The fourth is wrathful, destroying those who dare cross him._

_The fifth is watchful, watching the others._

_The si h s mourn l, await ng d e th._

_The seventh is ven eful, wanting jus ce._

_He eig th i h is p ous, pr y tomorr w._

_The ninth is mute, unable to express._

Three lines of the poem were largely unreadable, but the entire poem was a complete mystery to Wendy and the others. The Fairy Tail mages stored the poem in their minds, and turned to leave the chamber and head back to Fairy Tail. They needed to report the poem to Makarov.

**?**

The screams of a teenage boy echoed through the forest, the trees and plants dying around the boy as he ran. He was wearing a blue dark blue sleeveless vest with a white shirt underneath it, his cropped jeans were torn in minor places, and his silver shoes were caked in mud. His amber eyes were wide with fear as he ran, hurrying towards the light that he saw at the end of the dark forest.

"Help me! Somebody help me!" he screamed as he ran, the forest dying around him.

The ground turned black, trees started to fall down, the bushes dried up, and the flowers withered as the darkness behind the boy grew and grew.

"Run as fast as you can, child." cackled an elderly voice as the boy suddenly let out a cry of fear as the earth broke apart and vines erupted from the ground, blocking the way.

The boy trembled in fear as an old man stepped out of the darkness. The old man's eyes were closed, and he had a smile on his face, making him appear to be friendly. He held a gnarled walking stick in his left hand and he wore a simple white medieval tunic with a three cornered hat. He looked at the boy, and smiled.

"Your name is Kory, and you are headed towards Fairy Tail in order to meet someone very important, perhaps a family member…a brother, perhaps?" the man asked as Kory shivered in fear and tried to get through the barrier of vines.

"How do you know who I am and where I'm going!" screamed Kory as the old man stepped closer, smiling.

"I may be blind, but I have other ways of seeing. I am on very good terms with someone that can provide me with another way to see. You see, the earth never lies." explained the old man as the vines suddenly disappeared, Kory running away from the man, not looking back.

The forest continued to die around the old man as he waved at Kory's back, still smiling.

"You can run, but you can never hide." said the old man cheerfully as he slowly disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind a dead forest.

**A few miles out of Bermin**

"Garret, are you alright?"

The red spikey haired Tsubasa rubbed his head and nodded his head as he stood up, dusting himself off. His sister, Karis looked at him, worried that he might have been hurt. They didn't look like it, but the two of them were twins. Garret was the one wearing a yellow tunic, blue pants, and black boots. He had a reputation for being hotheaded, not at all like his sister. Karis was the more stable one of the two, with knee length red hair, pale, and fiery crimson eyes. She was usually seen wearing a black, zip up sleeveless shirt with ask colored shorts and black boots. She was wearing her trench coat, but it had been left open.

The two had been travelling from Bermin when the sudden windstorm knocked Garret back, Karis seeing if he was ok. He seemed fine and looked around as he shielded his face with his arm, trying to see through the windstorm. Karis did the same, knowing what to do because of the frequent windstorms around Bermin.

"What's with all these windstorms? They never got this bad!" Garret complained as the two made their way through the wind, Karis nodding her head.

"I think it has to do with something with nature. I can't explain everything, but it could be the rising temperatures. The sun's been overly hot as well." agreed Karis as the two trudged through the windstorm, heading towards Magnolia.

Their journey was to Ennersville, but they decided that Magnolia was a perfect spot to stop and rest. They were actually on their way to visit Kory, one of their childhood friends. He was a member of the Ryuusaga family, and their families kept in touch very often. Garret looked at his sister, and laughed.

"Hey, sis, do you think Kory will be in Magnolia as well?" he asked as Karis shrugged.

"Well, we have to get there first!"

**Arcana, Imperial Gardens**

After a while of speaking to his son, Paco managed to get his son to sit down and listen to what the story entailed. Paco knew that with every second, the situation was getting worse, but without knowledge of the story, nobody could stop it. Paco and Darius faced each other and the king started to speak about the story.

"The story told of nine men, all from distinguished families. In the old days, the goddesses walked the earth, ruling in person. However, there was a problem after one goddess was kidnapped. After that, all the goddesses returned to their domain." said Paco, Darius nodding.

"The goddesses appointed the nine men to rule the world in their name. The goddesses gave orders to the nine men, and they carried it out," Darius said as Paco nodded.

"That's right. Each of them was promised eternal life, and they received it. However, power tends to corrupt, and eventually, the court descended into insanity. The members of the court started to fight amongst themselves, and eventually, four of the nine were devoured, only five remaining. The goddesses grew angry at the court's failure, and disbanded the court forever." finished Paco as Darius's eyes widened.

"Y-you don't mean that the remaining five have returned? They were brought back by the goddesses to cleanse the world?" Darius asked, fear growing in his voice.

Paco thought for a second about what Darius had said. The gardens were quiet and the calm helped the king to think. His son had a point. Why would the court return when they were disbanded by the goddesses? The king sighed and looked at Darius.

"I do not know the answer to that question. What I do know, is that the members of the Court of Nine, were banished to different parts of the world. They most likely believe that their court is still in existence, their anger building within them. They plan on punishing us, and that can only mean a a complete purge of this world," Paco said darkly as Darius clenched his fist and shivered.

"But, how can we stop them? There must be a way!" said Darius as Paco nodded, Darius breathing in relief.

"There is one way to stop the purge. We must resurrect the members of the court who have been killed, or 'devoured'. However, as you know, Necromancy is strictly forbidden in the world of magic. It would come at a great cost," Paco sad gravely as Darius nodded his head.

"W-what would the cost be? I-I am willing to sacrifice my life if need be!" shouted Darius as Paco looked at him, a serious look on his face.

"Nobody cheats the Goddess of Death, nobody. The incredible price that would have to be paid would leave half of the world uninhabitable, forcing half of the world…to die."

…

**And there's the chapter folks! I also introduced the other OCs this chapter, and I hope it was ok. I liked this chapter, and I will be working on the other chapters soon as well. This chapter had a lot of foreshadowing. Anyways, I hope the chapter was enjoyable, and I will see you all later! FF**


	5. The Arrival

**The fifth chapter! In this chapter, we meet a character some of you may know. It may confuse some of you, but there will be an explanation. I'm actually really excited for this chapter. Anyways, here's the chapter. **

**Near Lamia Scale**

The trail of bodies was substantial, stretching across forests, and fields of Fiore. Reports of several victims, entire cities ravaged, and most recently, an entire dark guild killed off. People were getting scared. The citizens flooded guilds, asking for help. Lamia Scale was one of the strongest guilds, and naturally, people wanted help. The guild answered the call, sending mages to try to find this murderer and to guard the city borders.

It was a terrible mistake. Whoever the killer was, they liked a challenge. The mages patrolling the neighboring forests, fields, and abandoned ruins was like a challenge to the murderer. One by one, the mages started to disappear, found days later, dead. Their eyes reflected great Fear, the horrible look still on their faces. Nobody was safe in Fiore…nobody.

"You'll never get away with this." growled the mage who was pinned to a tree, several cuts on his face and a large bruise on his cheek.

His dirty clothes were covered in dirt, and his guild tattoo was muddy, but it was still visible. He was a mage from Lamia Scale. The mage was facing a man with black hair, the man smiling. He was dressed in a white toga and a mess of black scarves that wrapped around his body. The man grabbed the mage's neck, the Lamia Scale mage letting out a whimper as he did so. The man smiled at the mage's fear.

"You pretend to be strong, but you're very weak. You are a member of that pathetic guild, Lamis Scale, no? Do you know how many of your friends I have killed? Five, six, ten, twenty? Did you even find the bodies?" asked the man darkly as the mage squirmed trying to get away.

"P-please…please don't do this!" shouted the mage as the man raised his eyebrows and then laughed.

"You mages are the scum of the earth. You believe your magic is superior, but it's just a false sense of security. I won't even bother devouring you. My name is Hudson, by the way. I thought I would at least tell you my name before you died!" shouted Hudson as he grabbed the mage's neck.

"Hudson, stop."

Hudson suddenly loosened his grip on the Lamia Scale mage and looked to his right, revealing a man dressed like a solider. He was wearing a Prussian Blue military coat that extended to his knee with a black pickelhaube*. He had brown eyes, a handlebar mustache, and was looking disapprovingly at Hudson. The scarlet eyed man just smirked and squeezed the mage's neck, a sharp cracking sound coming from the mage's neck as he fell to the ground, dead. The man with the handlebar mustache sighed and closed his eyes. Hudson gave him an annoyed look.

"I don't get you, Bauer. You know that I enjoy this, so why make me feel guilty by giving me that look? Why do you even bother? You're the fifth, always watching us." laughed Hudson as Bauer looked up at him and frowned.

Bauer narrowed his eyes at Hudson. The scarlet eyed mage was always like this, but his violent nature seemed to evolve even more now that Lamia Scale had challenged him. He was getting out of control, and as the fifth, his responsibility was to control the other members of the court.

"Calm down, Hudson. You'll have plenty of time to eliminate mages when the court meets. So far, we haven't seen any other members of the court-"

Bauer was in the middle of his sentence when a knife suddenly hit the trunk of the tree next to Hudson, the trunk bursting into flame and being reduced to ashes in seconds. There was a happy laugh as the two mages turned in the direction the knife came from to see a man wearing a brown leather jacket, his sword resting on the armored plate on his shoulder. He was wearing black dress pants, his brown hair well groomed, and he looked smug.

"Well, well, well. Looks like you haven't changed at all, Hudson." smirked the swordsman as Bauer nodded to him, the swordsman returning the gesture.

"How did you find us so quickly, Fahmak?" Hudson asked sarcastically as Fahmak smiled and swung the sword into the ground, the tip of wide and flat blade sticking in the ground.

"Well, that was easy. You left a trail of bodies that was so easy to follow, I could have followed you through the night blindfolded!" laughed Fahmak as Hudson growled.

Bauer looked at the two other mages and he smiled in the inside. Fahmak would keep Hudson in check, for the time being. Only two members of the court were missing. Once they met, there would be no stopping them.

**Near Magnolia**

Karis and Garret were making good progress, having fought through the windstorm near Bermin. The roads were strangely clear towards Magnolia and they had moved faster than expected. The Tsubasa twins were very close to Magnolai, the Fairy Tail guild appearing in the distance, when they saw a horse drawn cart ahead of them. It wasn't moving very quickly, and the Tsubasa twins were shocked to see that the cart was being driven by a girl that didn't even appear to be eleven.

She was short, had green eyes, and had hair like Karis, down to her knees, although it was blue like Levy's. She had a happy expression on her face and was dressed in a black cloak, a cattail sticking out of her mouth as she drove the cart forward. Karis and Garret decided to speak to her because they were curious about the young girl driving the cart. Who was she? Karis and Garret ran so that they were right next to the slow moving cart, and the girl looked at them and smiled.

"Hello there, stranger." said the girl cheerfully as Karis and Garret returned the greeting and introduced themselves.

They talked with the girl for a while and found her to be very friendly, polite, although a bit strange. They eventually found out her name, Malice Southerland. Eventually, the conversation shifted to where she was going and how old she was. Malice responded with a mischievous look on her face, taking the cattail out of her mouth and looking at the two Tsubasas that were walking along with the cart.

"Well, if you really wanna know, I'm ten years old, but some may see me as much, much older than that. As to where I'm going, well, I have a friend waiting for me. I haven't seen them for a very long time. Say, have you seen a man with a brown handlebar mustache and wears a funny hat with a spike on the top?" Malice asked as Karis and Garret looked at each other and shrugged.

"Um, no, I can't remember seeing anyone of that description, but are you headed to Fairy Tail like we are?" Karis asked politely as Malice shook her head.

"No, I really don't know where I'm supposed to go. I'm afraid that my friends choose the strangest spots to meet," Malice explained as she suddenly looked at Garret. "Say, are you two perhaps mages?"

Garret shook his head furiously and punched the air as he fought an invisible enemy. Karis just shook her head and rolled her eyes at her brother's foolishness. Garret looked at Malice and grinned.

"Yeah, we are mages! We're members of the Tsubasa family, and I'm going to become an S-Class mage!" shouted Garret as Malice nodded her head and closed her eyes, rubbing her chin in the process.

"Hmm, Tsubasa family you say? I could have sworn I've heard that name before…" mused Malice as Garret shook his head.

"Yeah, we're the strongest family, and we helped save this world a long time ago!" said Garret proudly as Karis dragged him away, the cart stopping at the gates of Magnolia.

Malice nodded her head and the Tsubasa twins headed into the city, waving goodbye.

"I hope you do well in Fairy Tail!" shouted Malice as the cart slowly disappeared from sight, Karis and Garret looking up at the huge building.

The entire city of Magnolia was incredible, but Fairy Tail was the best part. The guild building towered over everything in the city, and Karis and Garret hurried towards the guild building. Fairy Tail was just within their grasp!

**Inside Fairy Tail**

Athena and Justin had talked with Mitsu more, telling him about what they had experienced up to this point. The guild was loud, and crowded as usual, but Team Natsu had returned from their mission, bringing news for Makarov. The guild master had retreated to his office soon after, and was not seen again after that.

Mitsu seemed unwilling to share any information at all about his personal life. They didn't even know his last name yet, and Athena was going to ask him when the doors to Fairy Tail burst open, an exhausted black haired boy in dark blue sleeveless vest run into the guild, the guild growing slightly quieter at the boy's sudden entrance. The boy instantly snapped to Mitsu, who stood up and looked at the boy with a surprised face.

"You!"

…

**This chapter took forever to complete, but I finally did it. Anyways, I don't have much to say, so I will see you all later! FF**


	6. The Strength of the Court

**I actually got a lot of inspiration from the new chapter of Fairy Tail. It was disappointing to me, but what can you do? This chapter, we see something that I have been planning for a long time. Some of you may be confused about the characters that are appearing as villains. It'll be explained soon enough. Anyways, enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to read the new Fairy Tail!**

_Fairy Tail, Illuminati, and the government had started hardcore investigation on the subject of "The Court of Nine". The court was considered a serious threat to the safety of everyone in the world, but the citizens didn't know much. They were more worried about the windstorms, the fires, and the murders than an old legend. The information that Team Natsu brought back was invaluable to Makarov, kept all the information in a secret folder. The safety of his guild was threatened, and Makarov would never be able to live with himself if he allowed his children to be hurt. _

_However, there were others who were conducting the same research. Saber Tooth had looked into the strange events, and had quickly made connections with the ancient legend. Their speed was faster than Fairy Tail's, but slower than the government's. But, they got lucky. They guessed that the place where the strange phenomena were the strongest was where this infamous "Court of Nine" was. So, the guild master of Saber Tooth sent Team Saber Tooth to take care of the court, scoffing at the fact that the members of the court were immortal. The guild master argued that Saber Tooth was made up of the strongest mages in Fiore, and no ancient legend was going to change that. _

**Forest near Lamia Scale **

The three mages stood in a triangular formation, speaking to each other as if they were old friends. The mage named Bauer seemed to be the calmest of the three, Hudson coming next, and then the swordsman named Fahmak. Despite Hudson being a murderous maniac, he was calm when he was around those he could trust. Bauer looked at the swordsman who had his eyes closed and was leaning against his tall sword.

"How does it feel to be back in this world? I'm sure Edolas was quite the pain." asked Bauer as Fahmak opened one eye and looked at Bauer.

The swordsman smiled as he nodded his head. It was unlucky that he had been sent to Edolas, although he had one other to help keep him company. Fahmak let out an easy laugh as he fiddled with his hair.

"Well, you're right about that. Edolas was hell for me. My magic was completely useless, and I had to become a common soldier, never aging, but forever in the service of that wretched king, Faust. Malice had it much easier. She was still a kid, barely ten years old, and she had a long, long life ahead of her," Fahmak chuckled as he thought about the joke he had made. "However, I was back home, where I truly belonged. It wasn't pretty, but it was home, you know?"

Hudson smirked and Bauer nodded his head. All surviving members of the court were banished to random places in the world, and in Edolas. Fahmak and Malice were originally citizens of Edolas, so they were sent back home. Hudson made a fist and frowned as he thought about where he had been sent to. It was not a horrible place, but it was isolated, far away from any place where he could do any harm. Hudson's face slowly twisted into a smile, his voice filled with joy.

"When we get everyone back together, I can't wait to start destroying things. Nothing can avoid my wrath, and I suggest that we destroy Fairy Tail first." suggested Hudson darkly as Fahmak raised an eyebrow, Bauer not reacting to Hudson's suggestion.

"Fairy Tail? If I'm not mistaken about what has happened while we were gone, I believe Saber Tooth is the strongest guild now. Shouldn't we destroy them first?" Fahmak asked as Hudson shook his head.

"Is that a joke, Fahmak? Have you seen Saber Tooth recently, or at any time in history for that matter? They are a collection of pathetic failures who believe they are superior simply for winning a child's game. Fairy Tail, while having equally pathetic values, present mages that would be some minor challenge." scoffed Hudson, Fahmak shrugging at Hudson's statement.

"Oh, we're pathetic? Please excuse us for being the strongest mages in Fiore!"

The arrogant voice was soon revealed to belong to Sting, the white dragon slayer sauntering over confidently. Behind him were the other members of Team Saber Tooth. Minerva, Rufus, Rogue, and Orga had come as well, to the delight of Hudson. Sting continued to mock them, receiving no response from the immortals before them.

"So you're those 'Court of Nine' idiots the guild master had been talking about. You don't look tough at all, so I'll make it quick, alright? There's no way anybody in the world could be immortal, anyways." taunted Sting as Hudson looked at the dragon slayer, his crimson eyes staring straight into Sting's eyes.

Hudson gestured to Bauer, and the man with the mustache stepped forward. Sting just smirked at them.

"You annoy me, but you aren't worth the effort of crushing. Bauer will do it for me. You were being judged by the court the second you decided to challenge us, and in the court, you are guilty until proven innocent." said Hudson flatly as Orga stepped forward, black electricity already crackling around the muscular man.

"120mm Black Lightning Cannon!" roared the lightning god slayer as the black lightning blasted from his hands with extreme force.

The attack was strong enough to blow through any sort of defense, but Bauer raised his hand as the black electricity shot towards the mustached man. Bauer's face was devoid of emotion as he did so, completely calm and cool.

"Stop."

To Orga's surprise, the electricity stopped in mid-air, still crackling with explosive energy. The Saber Tooth mages looked surprised, but they didn't exactly look intimidated by Bauer's magic. Orga growled and sent several more shots flying towards Bauer, the uniformed man stopping them all. Several columns of destructive black lightning now hovered over the ground, Orga trying to pierce through Bauer's magic. The Fifth* didn't even look remotely tired as he made a fist.

"Reverse Time!"

Orga didn't even have time to react. The electricity had been incredibly fact before, and they moved just as fast now, several columns of his own electricity smashing into him, and because it was his own lighting, he couldn't eat it! Orga could barely let out a scream of pain as the he was fried alive and smashed into the ground, defeated by his own attacks. The Saber Tooth mages were starting to feel a slight feeling of dread, but they didn't show it as Minerva smiled confidently as she sent a ball of magic smashing into Bauer's body, the force and energy of the ball so great that it could blow apart an entire body.

And it did exactly that, exploding right in Bauer's chest, the chunks of human flesh falling from the sky as they rained down onto the forest. Blood showered all mages present, and Hudson smiled. The Saber Tooth mages grinned confidently and they started to move towards Hudson and Fahmak. What they failed to see was the chunks of human flesh starting to move together, recreating a human body. It happened so fast that the Saber Tooth mages didn't even see it coming until Bauer was once again standing in front of them, not a scratch on him. Bauer's military uniform had metal cuffs, and the shiny grey steel extended to form blades.

"You cannot kill me." grunted Bauer as he plunged both blades into Minerva's body, swiftly drawing them out and smashing her face with his own fist, the blade drawn back.

Two of Saber Tooth's strongest mages were already down, but they kept coming. Bauer was completely in the zone, the forest disappearing from his mind. Everything disappeared besides his targets and himself. Rufus was the easiest of the remaining to take down. His Memory Magic relief on the person's brain to remember, but they still relied on time. Time was everything to Bauer. The sickening crunch of Rufus's arms as they broke made Hudson giggle in glee, and Bauer threw the creation mage against a tree, the trunk almost snapping from the force.

Rogue was much trickier, moving incredibly fast, dodging his blades with ease. Bauer smiled as he watched Rogue dodge his latest attack, an uppercut. The uniformed man slammed his palm into Rogue's chest, forcing the black haired dragon slayer back, Bauer smiling slightly as he watched his magic go to work, altering time around Rogue, making it seem as if he had been fighting for an entire week straight, the dragon slayer collapsing in fatigue.

"So you think you're some kind of big shot with your fancy time magic? Don't make me laugh! I am Sting, one of the strongest mages in Fiore!" roared a voice from above, Sting bringing in an attack that would surely do quite a bit of damage.

But the attack never reached Bauer. Fahmak and Hudson howled in laughter as they saw Sting's neck suddenly get enveloped by Bauer's powerful hands, the dragon slayer's punch losing all power because of the sudden stop in momentum. Sting tried to get away, but Bauer smashed the white dragon slayer into the ground, the dragon slayer's entire body paralyzed. In a rare act of emotion, Bauer placed one of his combat boots on Sting's throat, the mustached man actually standing on the dragon slayer. He looked down at Sting with cold and empty eyes.

"You are the strongest mages in Fiore? Your strength pales in comparison with those of Fairy Tail. You only believe that you are stronger because of the absence of those who could easily punish you. You are the new recruit that badmouths the officers while they are not around. Your pathetic display of magic annoys even me, the weakest of our group. Be thankful that it was I who fought you. Now, sleep." said Bauer darkly, slamming his boot into Sting's throat, completely knocking the wind out of his throat and putting him to sleep.

Bauer turned around to see the forest return, the trees looking as they had when he had seen them. Hudson and Fahmak were leaning against trees, clapping. Hudson looked especially pleased. Bauer was about to join them when they heard the sound of someone walking through the forest. In an instant, Bauer turned around, blades out. However, he lowered them as soon as he saw who it was. The ten year old girl with the knee length hair, the mischievous green eyes, and the black cloak all indicated Malice.

The young girl looked around, observing the five mages lying on the ground, smoldering, or smashed against trees. She looked at the three friends before her and raised her eyebrows.

"You couldn't start the party without me?"

…

**I apologize that the OCs didn't appear at all, but this was an important chapter. I hope you caught all the stuff I was hoping you guys would catch. I know that there was quite a lot of Saber Tooth bashing, but they really deserved it after all the cocky moments and the gloating they do. I hope the chapter was good, and I will see you all later. FF**


	7. Fear of Being Devoured

**Here's the next chapter! I'm trying to finish my SE story today, but I probably won't get to that today. I also finished Dragon Myth today. I'm spending a lot of time reading books at the local Barnes and Nobles so time gets sort of short. I just read the first book in the Divergent series. **

**Anyways, here we go with the next chapter, and review if you like it! Enjoy. **

**Fairy Tail *Kory POV***

I stared at the person who held a different last name, but shared blood with me. The light browned mage that was staring at me was my brother, Mitsu Ryuusaga. He didn't look happy to see me at all, but it was a normal reaction of Mitsu's. I looked to the opposite of the table, and noticed the two people who were looking at him, confused looks on their faces. One was a girl, a blonde with her long blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She had crystal clear blue eyes and had an air of someone who might be nobility. She was dressed in all white, although the clothes had smudges from dirt.

The other was a boy, black haired and he looked sort of unconfident, but determined at the same. He was wearing a grey t-shirt and brown cargo shorts. For some reason, I felt like I had a connection to the two strangers I had seen. My secret brother was still glaring at me, and I noticed that the guild had quieted down a little and quickly went into the guild, the door closing behind me. I was walking towards my brother's table when the door opened, and somebody bumped into me.

I lurched forward, avoiding a collision with a table, and skidded to a halt, facing the doors. I was about to say something to whoever bumped into me, but I stopped when I saw who it was. It appeared that a boy my age had bumped into me, but I knew who it was. He had spiky red hair and wore a yellow tunic, a sword strapped to his back. He grinned when he saw me, and the girl behind him greeted me by nodding her head. I smiled as the boy gave me a huge grin.

"I knew you'd be here! We were coming to visit you in Ennersville, but looks like we won't have to go all the way!" he laughed loudly.

"Garret, Karis, wow, I didn't think I would see you here!" I said, obviously excited to see my friends.

I led the two towards where my brother and the two strangers were sitting, Mitsu's face darkening as we came over and sat down.

…

Justin and Athena looked at Mitsu and the new arrival with confusion. Did they know each other? It also seemed that the new arrival had brought friends, a girl and boy with red hair. The black haired mage sat down next to Mitsu and the two red haired mages sat down next to Athena and Justin.

"So, do you two know each other?" Athena asked as Mitsu shot his brother a look.

"We're…rivals." answered Mitsu as the black haired mage nodded his head.

"My name is Kory, and," Kory gestured to the two red haired mages sitting next to Justin. "Those are my friends, Karis and Garret."

The two said hello, and eventually, the introductions came to Athena and Justin. Everybody looked at the two from Crocus and Justin felt his face grow slightly red. He hated being looked at by more than one person.

"So," Kory started. "What're your names?"

Athena was the first to respond. She was always very social, and said her name with confidence.

"My name is Athena Flarina!" she said proudly as Justin sighed and introduced himself.

"My name is Justin Silence." said Justin, trying not to be too loud about it.

The entire table's jaw dropped at the two names. Garret and Karis looked at each other. There was no way that was true! Kory was still in awe, but Mitsu was the first to speak, slight surprise on his face.

"So, you're technically a princess," Mitsu said as he turned from Athena to Justin. "And you're from the family that led the Silence Uprising?"

Athena nodded happily and Justin just nodded his head slowly. He was curious about their reactions. Most people didn't look that surprised when he told them his last name, but their reactions were a little over the top. As the conversation went to last names, nobody noticed Makarov walk out of the guild, file in hand.

…

_The Silence family did not die out after Jonathan and Julius were killed. If Julius had been the legitimate only child of the Silence family, the line would had surely have gone extinct. But, Julius was adopted, and Jonathan had children besides Julius. The family survived past Julius's death, the legitimate children of Jonathan receiving the wealth and estates Julius would have received thanks to his heroic actions. _

_The Silence family, unlike the Tsubasa and Ryuusaga families, retreated into obscurity, not much information being public about them. They continued to live a private life, away from prying eyes. Interest in them died over time, and they eventually moved to Crocus._

…

**Arcana, Imperial Meeting Room**

The huge room was usually used only for military matters, but Paco had made an exception for this rare case. He had called together guild masters from Fiore to meet with him to discuss their strategy to defeat the Court of Nine. The room was unfurnished besides a long wooden desk, Paco sitting at the head. The walls were white, and undecorated unlike the rest of the palace. Comfortable chairs lay along the desks, and at the head sat Paco.

The king wore the Crown of Knives, the symbol of power in the Garlan Empire, dressed in green and red silk robes with golden thread. Sitting closest to him was Makarov, the seat across him reserved for the guild master of Saber Tooth. The seat was empty, the guild master having turned down the invitation. Paco had a grim look on his face as he spoke to the guild masters seated along the table.

"I shall skip the formalities. We have no time to waste. As you all know, the Court of Nine has risen once again. Some of you may be confused by this name. I have personally grown up hearing a different name, The Bourbon Court. Whatever their name, their potential for destruction is incredible, with their main goal being the total purge of this world." explained Paco gravely as the guild masters started to cast worried glances at each other and murmur.

"If you don't mind me interrupting your explanation, isn't it a bit wild to believe that this group of mages has returned and are bringing judgment down on the world?" asked a brown haired man, his face a patchwork of scars. "I have heard the story before, but I cannot believe it. Immortal mages who have the strength of gods? That is impossible."

Paco was about to speak when Makarov smashed his fist down on the table, glaring at the guild master who had spoken.

"I understand that you are skeptical, Lopez, but do you know why Saber Tooth is not here? They fought against these immortals, and lost. Don't you think it's a little coincidental that all these things are happening in accordance to the story? Saber Tooth's pride is horribly wounded, and we need to find a way to defeat these mages before we are killed!" shouted Makarov as Lopez glared back at Makarov.

There was a long silence as the guild masters thought about the threat that was coming. Paco observed the group, hoping a solution could be worked out. Finally, a panicked voice broke through the silence. It was the voice of a guild master of a minor guild.

"T-They're immortal, so we can't even touch them! Even Saber Tooth lost to them! It's over, we're doomed!" cried the guild master as all the other guild masters burst into shouting.

"They are undefeatable!"

"Do they even have fears?"

The last shout made Paco focus in on the most farfetched solution he could come up with. He let out a roar of anger that instantly quieted the room, Paco standing up, looking at the many guild masters present.

"Do they have fears? Of course they have fears! They may be immortal, but they are still humans! They have a fear of being 'devoured', the only way to kill an immortal is to devour them! Unfortunately, only an immortal can devour another immortal. If you all remember clearly, the Bourbon Court had nine members. Unfortunately, four of them were devoured by the remaining five, the very five that threaten our world!" shouted Paco as Makarov looked at the old king with a doubtful look.

"What do you suppose we do then? Resurrect the dead members of the court? Necromancy is strictly prohibited!" said Makarov as Paco nodded his head, an idea forming in his old mind.

The guild masters had calmed down enough to the point that they were listening intently to what Paco was saying.

"The five immortals devoured the other four, because they were afraid. Immortals fear other immortals. That being said, we must use the children of the families of the four immortals. Resurrecting the dead is incredibly foolish, and would cost several millions of lives just for one, never mind four. If any of you recall the names of the four who were devoured, their family names are Flarina, Tsubasa, Ryuusaga, and Silence."

…

**Bam there is the chapter. It was a huge twist (to me anyways), so enjoy it and I will see you all later! FF**


	8. Immortal Blood

**Yesterday was a really, **_**really **_**busy day. I really don't know what to say besides the statement that yesterday was busy. Today seems a little bit less busy, but we'll see. In this chapter, we get some more OC stuff, and a new setting comes up. **

**Here's the chapter. Enjoy. **

_It had been decided. Makarov would return to Fairy Tail and send the children of four sacred families to fight against almost god-like immortal mages. But there were doubts about this strategy. Would they even be strong enough to fight them? Makarov had thought about it, and he decided that Team Natsu would go with them. _

_Saber Tooth had reported that the infamous group of mages was hanging around ghost town. Makarov didn't trust them at all, but he had no choice. If Saber Tooth was lying, there would be punishment for them later. But even with the plan set in place, Makarov had his doubts. He had no doubt that there would be bloodshed._

**Arcana, king's private chamber**

The meeting with the guild masters had concluded, and Paco was sitting in his private office, looking at a book and reading through the pages. It wasn't just any book. It was the book that his father had handed to him on his death bed. It was in good condition, the dark green spine still firmly in place, and the pages completely free of imperfection. Paco had first expected it to be about his father's life, but it was about Paco's life up until his father's death. Paco was still reading it when his son came in, a worried look on his face.

"Father, what's this about sending children to fight against these monsters!" Darius demanded as Paco looked up and shut the book.

Darius looked like he had been up all night. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was a complete mess. Paco almost felt bad for him, but stopped himself before giving his son any sympathy. He was a prince, and he needed to feel everything, even despair and anger.

"These children have immortal blood running through their veins. They are not immortal themselves, but they have the strength to devour those of the court. Makarov is currently bringing together the children by contacting the families of those who have immortal blood." explained Paco calmly as his son looked surprised.

"Even the Flarina and Silence families? Have we kept track of them all these years?" the prince asked, the king nodding his head.

"Of course we have. I have personally contacted those two families, and it appears that those two went to Fairy Tail. Makarov may have an even easier time than we thought. Team Natsu will be dispatched to escort the children to a ghost town called 'Merhaba'. Do you know of it, Darius?" Paco asked, his son nodding his head.

"It was an industrial complex that failed back in Lidia's days. Most of the facility lies underground, and was used for scientific experiments and mining. Something went wrong with a science experiment and the entire facility was abandoned, along with the town that surrounded it. It was declared safe during Xalender's reign, but nobody returned. Are you sure this is a good idea, father?" Darius asked, Paco nodding his head, but a worried look crossed his face.

"I'm sure it will be alright. They are Fairy Tail, after all…"

**Fairy Tail**

"Um, we really weren't expecting this kind of reaction to our last names…" said Justin sheepishly as they sat at the lunch table in the back of the guild.

"If you're a Silence family member, why didn't you keep in touch with us? Our families were friends with yours during the rebellion!" Garret shouted loudly, Justin thinking about why he hadn't contacted the Tsubasa and Ryuusaga families.

"I-I think my mom told me not to contact you guys because it would bring too much attention. Our family didn't really like all the attention we got after the rebellion. We just tried to live life the way we always had." explained Justin as Garret shrugged.

Athena looked at the others sitting at the lunch table. She still wanted to know what everybody was doing at Fairy Tail. They already knew why Mitsu was here, but didn't know about Kory, Karis, and Garret.

"So," Athena said, looking at the three who hadn't told their stories yet. "What're your stories? What brought you to Fairy Tail?"

Kory was the first to respond, smiling at the question. He glanced at Mistu, the brown haired mage just grunting at his rival.

"I came to Fairy Tail so I could fight my rival again!" Kory said cheerfully, pushing the memory of the dying forest away.

"We came to Fairy Tail to meet Kory, actually. It was sort of luck that we found him in Fairy Tail." said Karis as Garret nodded his head.

"During the trip here, we got stuck in some kind of windstorm, and we managed to push through it, meeting a nice girl named Malice on the way. Oh, I forgot to ask, are you guys members of the guild?" Garret asked as Justin and Athena nodded.

"We joined the guild as soon as we got here, and it's been sort of our dream to join Fairy Tail, and we finally did it!" Athena said excitedly as the doors to Fairy Tail opened, Makarov stepping in.

The group of mages looked over to where Makarov was, the guild master scanning the guild's lunchroom and eventually finding Justin and Athena. The legendary guild master walked over to the lunch table and looked at the group of mages before him. Makarov had contacted all the families, and conveniently enough, they had all gathered at Fairy Tail!

"I'm sorry, but we can't waste any more time. Please, come with me." said Makarov as everyone stood up from the lunch table and followed the ancient guild master towards the main hall of the guild.

As they headed towards the main hall, Makarov motioned to Erza, the legendary Titania waving the other members of Team Natsu over. As they left, a figure watched from the windows, smiling as they left.

…

"Some of you have seen strange things on the way here, and I will explain why I have gathered you here," Makarov said as he looked at all the people gathered in the main hall. A group of immortal mages has returned to purge the world."

Makarov saw the look of fear cross the faces of everybody in the room. Makarov tried to steel himself to any bad emotions. He knew that this would be difficult.

"Do not be afraid of their immortal strength. The Tsubasa, Ryuusaga, Flarina, and Silence families have the strength to defeat these immortals! Team Natsu will protect you from any harm, and will escort you to Merhaba, the ghost town where this group of mages is rumored to be hiding. You must go now in order to end this threat, and please, return safely."

…

Justin and Athena were shivering as they exited the guild, Team Natsu with them. Kory and the others were with them. Mitsu had insisted he come along for extra protection and to test his strength. All the mages felt like they were going into a trap, but they didn't complain. Makarov had shown signs that it pained him to send his guild members into such a dangerous mission, but everybody knew it had to be done.

But Justin and the others didn't understand everything. How could they defeat immortal mages? Justin was still thinking about it when they passed a scarecrow planted by the side of the road, wearing blue overalls and a plaid shirt, its grinning face looking at them. As Athena and Justin passed it, they looked at their friends.

"Do any of you remember that scarecrow being there?" Athena asked, Garret looking back to see what they were talking about.

"Uh, no, I don't think that was there before." said Garret as Mitsu looked back as well, rolling his eyes at the commotion over a scarecrow.

"Just concentrate on the task at hand, not the stupid scarecrow." grunted Mitsu as they left the scarecrow behind.

**Merhaba**

An old man walked into the ghost town, looking at all the abandoned houses, stores, and schools. He held a gnarled walking stick and wore a three cornered hat with a simple tunic. He was short, and he had his eyes closed, like he was blind.

"Such a strange group…." murmured the old man as he walked through the town, heading towards the large concrete building that lay in the middle of the town.

The ground wad dusty and dry, and it kicked up small clouds of dust as the man walked towards the building. He eventually reached the building, the doors broken down, and the inside of the building messy with ruined papers spilled everywhere. It was dark inside, but the old man couldn't see any of it. He suddenly turned around, walking stick in his hand like a weapon.

"Noland, you've finally joined us."

The old man's expression softened and he put the walking stick down, returning to normal. He couldn't see who spoke to him, but he used the earth to be his eyes, observing those who stood in front of him. It was an old friend, Bauer. More people were coming from the abandoned houses, Hudson, Malice, and Fahmak joined Bauer in welcoming Noland to Merhaba.

"What took you so long to join us?" Hudson asked, the blind man named Noland looking at him.

"I was observing Fairy Tail. It seems that they have found the children of the four we devoured long ago." said the old man calmly.

Malice shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the devouring and Hudson smirked at that.

"Well, did they get the message from Saber Tooth?" Hudson asked as Noland nodded.

"Yes, they are headed here right now."

Hudson smiled happily and he turned to the others behind him. The concrete building loomed in the background as he shouted into the air.

"Let's give these Fairy Tail mages a warm welcome!"

…

**I didn't get to include everything I wanted to in this chapter. I'll try to get it in next chapter. To explain how Noland can see, he uses the earth to see. He is on good terms with the Goddess of the Earth, and she gives Noland a second pair of eyes, allowing him to see whatever touches the ground. **

**Anyways, that small spoiler aside, I will see you all later. FF**


	9. Ghosts in the Dark

**The Sanctum**

The large stone chamber was alight with a huge bonfire, the flames reaching up to high stone ceiling. Inside the chamber were many figures dressed in white, black, and grey robes. Their bodies cast strange shadows, some not even human shadows. There was an exit to the chamber behind an old woman wearing a white robe, her ancient eyes staring into the flames. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that all the figures in the room were female, besides a single male boy dressed in black robes and a black crown resting on his head. His eyes were different colors, one red and the other blue, a cocky grin on the blonde boy's face.

All eyes seemed to be fixed on the large bonfire in the middle of the stone chamber, the fire's crackling extremely loud. Within the fire, several scenes were happening. One showed Paco and Darius, both asleep. Another showed the underground facility in Merhaba, Bauer watching Malice playing with science equipment. The last scene was one that showed the group of Fairy Tail mages heading towards Merhaba. One of the women in white robes twisted her face in disgust.

"Why do we allow that facility to exist? Shouldn't we destroy it completely?" A blonde woman asked as the old woman looked at her, her shrunken face neutral.

"The facility cannot be destroyed. It is a reminder to us. We created the facility in a moment of weakness. We were desperate to find a way to replace the goddesses that were killed by Wales. We overestimated what humans could achieve in such a short time, and we eventually had to release a horrible creature into the world to shut the facility down. However, it must always stand, untouched by godly hands. It is like the Court of Nine…a reminder that even a goddess can be weak." said the old woman wisely as all the women in white bowed their heads at their leader.

One woman, dressed in gray with shoulder length red hair, looked at the fire and laughed to herself, looking over at the boy with the black crown.

"I am surprised that you are not stepping in. It seems like something you would be interested in, Evil." laughed the woman as the boy glared at her.

"Do not mock me, Death. I have no interest in the court. Do with them as you wish." said Evil calmly as the old woman nodded her head.

"Very well, we shall leave it to Fate to decide what becomes of this situation. If Fairy Tail is successful, humanity has proved its worth and will be allowed to continue on. If they fail, humanity must restart from its primitive beginnings. However, even Fate cannot choose for certain. By creating the court, and allowing them to live forever, we have lost control of them. Fairy Tail holds the fate of the world in their hands. All we can do is watch, for the first time in our life, truly helpless." said the old woman sadly as she watched the group of Fairy Tail mages reach the gates of Merhaba.

All the goddesses bowed besides Evil, and the fire was extinguished, the chamber flooded with darkness.

**?**

The town was burning. Ashes fell from the sky. Screams rang out throughout the city. Malice felt her heart hammer inside her throat as she ran, her footsteps echoing through the city as if she was in a cave. All around her, houses were burning, stone structures crumbling. She turned a street corner and froze in fear as she saw two figures. In the orange flames, their clothes were difficult to see, but Malice knew who they were.

One was wearing the white robes of a monk, and the other was wearing a three cornered hat. Noland had his hand planted on the man dressed in white's forehead, the man trying to free himself from Noland's grip.

"You are doing the wrong thing, Noland!" the monk shouted as Noland smiled sadly.

"I was appointed by Death to do this. I'm sorry." replied Noland as the monk suddenly stopped moving and Noland let go of his forehead, the body falling to the ground and not getting back up.

Malice saw Noland turn to look at her, and Malice quickly ducked into a burning house, praying that she had not been seen. She curled up into a ball, tears spilling from her eyes, fear building in her mind.

"I don't want to be devoured…please…no…"

…

Despite the commotion outside, the inside of the court chamber was quiet. A single person sat in the middle seat of the court, watching as a single person entered, the man's scarlet eyes giving him away. Hudson looked up at the single man sitting in the throne carved from stone and smiled.

"I know what you're thinking. I know you're a mute, but I know everything you're thinking!" Hudson shouted, losing control as soon as he saw the person sitting in the throne, looking down at him.

The man was dressed in a simple black cloak, his dark brown eyes watching Hudson as he paced around the court room. Hudson stabbed an accusing finger at the man.

"Luscious is gone, I devoured him, Father Ryuusaga has been devoured, and Mason Flarina is just a second away from-no, he's gone now. You're the only one, Jasif. You're the only one. You're going to be the last to be devoured. Last to be created, last to be devoured. You can finally rest!" Hudson screamed as he sprang up to grab Jasif's forehead with his right hand, his scarlet eyes brimming with triumph.

'_I pity you, Hudson.'_

Hudson took his hand away, Jasif's body falling back in the throne, completely limp. Hudson looked startled by the voice that he had just heard, but Hudson jumped down from where the other thrones were. He shook his doubts away and smiled as he left the court room behind.

"I have no reason to be afraid anymore. I devoured those who were a threat to me. You can blame Luscious, Hudson. I feared his power, and now I don't have to live in fear…"

The cackle echoed through the caves, mixing with the crackling of fire, and the screams of the innocent.

…

Malice woke up with a start, cold sweat going down her forehead. She let out a sigh of relief as she looked where she had woken up at. It was in a hallway, the concrete hallway perfectly rectangular, painted white with a yellow stripe down the middle. She looked to her left to see Bauer leaning against a door, watching Malice. The young girl smiled at the sight of her guardian and she stood up, Bauer grunting.

"Let's go. Hudson will want us to participate in his little game."

**Outside Merhaba**

The iron gate was rusty, most of the bars missing. In the distance, lay the ghost town of Merhaba. It wasn't as infamous as Delray, but it was certainly spooky. Justin noticed that the town looked fairly new, like it had just been abandoned yesterday. The buildings were in condition, but the insides were another story. Erza pushed the gates open, and the gates were halfway open when they suddenly detached from the hinges and slammed onto the ground, Athena and the others jumping at the sound.

They stepped through the gate and looked around the city, taking note of the ghost town's emptiness. There wasn't much to see besides old buildings, and a path led directly to the concrete cube that indicated the entrance to the facility. Karis shivered as they approached the concrete building, looking at up at its rough stony walls.

"I don't have a good feeling about this." said the long haired Tsubasa as he brother grinned as he pointed towards what appeared to be the entrance.

"Oh, come on, sis. It won't be bad at all!" laughed Garret as the group of Fairy Tail mages moved towards the entrance.

Erza was at the head of the group, so she pushed the steel doors open, a blast of cool air hitting the group as they peered into the dark room. Everyone stepped in, quiet as a mouse. It was probably the first time Natsu and Gray had ever been together and managed to stay quiet. Justin observed the room, trying to see through the darkness. The inside looked like a waiting room, but it was ransacked with overturned chairs, a half burnt reception desk, newspapers and magazines littering the ground, and a rusty elevator door next to the reception desk.

"Wow, what happened here?" Kory asked as they walked throughout the room, looking at all the damage.

"Probably caused by panicked people as they left the facility." answered Gray as Lucy and Natsu walked over to the elevator door.

Natsu didn't expect the elevator to work, but he pressed the button. The elevator rumbled for a second, and the rusted doors opened, revealing an equally rusted elevator car. Lucy turned to the others and called them over, the group getting into the elevator. It creaked as the group entered, but it held as Wendy pressed the only button in the elevator, down.

…

The elevator screeched as it descended into the underground facility, the car shaking as it went down. The ride was short, and the group exited the elevator and was surprised to see that the lights in the facility were still operational. They stepped into a large chamber with five pathways in front of them. The lights were still on in the pathways, and the chamber was empty besides work posters and a board that showed a ripped diagram of the facility. Mitsu took a look at the passages and scoffed.

"Five passages and eleven people, huh? We'll have to split up from here on out." said Mitsu as he turned to look at the others in the group.

Everyone nodded as Erza stepped forward to look at the group. Titania had taken the role of the leader, and she divided the group of eleven into five groups. Mitsu and Gray would go into the leftmost tunnel, Wendy and Kory would go into the next tunnel, Natsu and Garret would go through the middle tunnel, Karis and Lucy would go through the next tunnel, and Erza, Justin, and Athena would go through the rightmost tunnel. Every group had a Fairy Tail escort, and each group walked into their respective tunnels. It was time to face the court.

***Justin's POV***

I thought the tunnel was the scariest thing in my life. It was well lit, but the lights would flicker on an off occasionally, and it was generally scary. Athena was showing signs of getting scared as well, but Erza didn't seem fazed by it at all. I patted the pocket where I had put the lacrima and told myself that I would be fine. We had been walking for a little more than twenty minutes when I heard something from above.

_Clang bump ssss_

Athena let out a gasp when she heard that. I felt my heart race as I looked around the tunnel. What was that? Erza didn't even look back as she kept walking.

"Don't listen to the noises. It's just the building trying to trick you." assured the Titania as we kept walking.

Athena gave me a nervous smile and I tried to look strong as we continued on, our footsteps echoing through the tunnel. There were some steel doors along the tunnel, but we didn't bother to check them. I was walking when I suddenly heard the whispers, the hushed voices echoing all around me, Athena getting a scared look on her face, looking around the tunnel with paranoia.

That's when the tunnel's lights shut completely off, covering us in a blanket of darkness. That's when Athena completely lost it, screaming, the sound echoing throughout the entire tunnel. That's when I suddenly felt my knees go weak, my body falling to the ground.

***Kory POV***

The noises were terrifying. They seemed to echo through the tunnel and it sounded like someone was heaving for breath. Wendy seemed to have heard it as well, the sky dragon slayer starting to get scared. I was scared as well, trying to ignore the sounds. I suddenly heard the sound of someone screaming and a whimper escaped my lips, Wendy shivering and trying to get through it.

The sound of our footsteps echoed through the tunnel, and we passed several metal doors with faded signs next to them, and even another tunnel that connected with ours, the lights completely out. I was glad to have lights in our tunnel, and I was glad to have someone else around.

"D-Do you think we'll be ok?" I asked, trying to calm myself.

"I-I don't know. If we keep moving we'll be fine." replied Wendy and I nodded my head.

I wondered how my brother was doing. Was he scared at all? Probably not. I was thinking about how my brother would handle the situation when I saw the end of the tunnel, a door on the left side. Wendy looked at the door and saw the faded sign above it that read "Maintenance Corridor". I grabbed the handle and pulled it open, the door revealing a corridor that had a few boxes stacked on top of each other and a vent on the left side. The lights were working inside and Wendy and I stepped inside, closing the door behind us.

I looked towards the end of the corridor and I froze when I saw what was at the end of the corridor. I couldn't see what it really was because the last light was out, but it had a human like form. And one by one, the lights in the corridor started to go out.

…

**This took a while to write. I'm pretty tired so I'll just end it here. I hope you enjoyed it and I will see you all later. FF**


	10. Flood of Darkness

**Hello, and welcome to the tenth chapter of The Broken Road. It took a lot of thinking to really get some ideas into place, but I figured it out after going through some old stuff. I don't really think this chapter is going to be all that exciting because there's a lot of stuff we have to get through before we can see some fighting, but I'll try to make it alright.**

**Anyways, here's the chapter. Enjoy. **

**Merhaba, Underground Facility *Mitsu POV***

Gray and I were walking through some kind of long corridor. To be honest, I really didn't care if these mages were "immortal" or not. There was no way someone could live forever. I was thankful that I was with Gray, one of the few mages in Fairy Tail I really liked. I'm not sure why I volunteered to even come to this place. I hated being mixed in with my brother, but for some reason, I felt like I couldn't just abandon him. I was deep in thoughts about the whole situation when Gray asked me a question.

"Do you think we'll find anything here?" the ice make mage asked, looking at me as we walked down the hallway.

"I'm not sure. I mean, why would an immortal mage be hiding down here in the first place? Don't they have better things to do than to stalk us through an underground facility?" I asked as I shrugged.

Gray nodded his head and we kept walking. But still, I kept thinking about what Gray had asked me. Was there really something down here? It wasn't like me to get so deep into thought, but I couldn't help wondering about all of this.

_Clang_

The sound startled me and I let out a shout of surprise, looking all around, my eyes wide with surprise and a little bit of fear. Gray looked back at me, a weird look on his face. I looked down at the ground and saw the metal pipe I had accidentally hit. I calmed down and just laughed as we continued on. There was nothing to be scared of. Nothing was down here.

"You alright? You seemed kind of startled by that pipe you accidentally kicked." said Gray as I waved it off.

"It's nothing. I was just surprised by it." I replied as Gray shrugged his shoulders.

Still, it was a good thing we had the lights on in this place. Surprisingly, the lights still worked in this stupid place. That's when everything went wrong. I must have spoken too soon because the lights that were on behind us started to shut down, every light we had passed going dark, the darkness flooding the corridor behind us. I took a step forward while looking back. Gray cursed as he looked in front of us and I looked forward to see all the lights in front of us shutting down.

The only light that still worked as the light that hung right above us. We were on an island of light in a sea of darkness. Darkness was all around us and Gray just chuckled calmly as he looked into the inky blackness.

"Looks like you were only half right, Mitsu. We didn't find him, he found us."

***Garret POV***

_Ding clank scratch creak_

The sounds surrounded us at all times, but it didn't bother me. Natsu and I were walking through the tunnels, when suddenly the noises stopped. The fire dragon slayer looked up at the ceiling and shrugged. Instead, he turned to the long hallway that was ahead of us and started shouting.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he shouted, his voice bouncing around the tunnel.

I laughed as Natsu scratched his head and looked around. I was really pumped to start fighting against some strong opponents. I had promised myself that I would become an S-Class mage just like my sister, and I wasn't about to let some immortal mage get in my way! We passed several steel doors, and we tried to open them, but they were all jammed shut. Natsu kicked one of the doors and cursed as he tried to open one.

"Why won't they open? Come on you stupid door!" he shouted as he tried to pull open the door.

"Natsu, we don't have time to be investigating all these rooms. These tunnels have to lead to some sort of ending area where we can all meet up again. Come on, let's go." I said as Natsu looked at me and sighed as he left the door.

"Alright, but I just hope that there's some food around here. I'm really hungry." sighed Natsu as we continued to walk.

As we walked, I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong about this part. It was like somebody had purposely jammed all the doors to stop from someone from getting in…or something from getting out. I shivered slightly, although it was mostly from excitement. Even I was excited, I couldn't help but feel a bit creeped out by the place. Suddenly the lights started flickering, and we stopped, staring up at the lights. I growled and frowned as I looked up at the blinking lights.

"Oh, come on! They've been working for at least three decades with no maintenance and now they stop working?" I shouted, angry at the light bulbs for failing at this crucial time.

Natsu narrowed his eyes as he looked at the light bulbs and looked down the hallway. All the lights were flickering as well. Natsu's lip curled into a smile. It was just what Natsu needed to really get back into serious fighting, an enemy who couldn't die.

"Garret, I don't think this is a coincidence at all." said Natsu calmly as all the lights shut off.

We stood in the darkness for a while, and then a flame appeared in front of us. I jumped back and Natsu narrowed his eyes as the flame got larger, revealing a man wearing a brown leather jacket with an armor plate fixed on his right shoulder. He had well-kept brown hair and he had brown eyes that reflected the orange glow of the fire he held in his left hand. He looked smug and grinned at Natsu, raising his wide but flat sword.

"Well, if it isn't my son, Natsu."

***Karis POV***

Lucy and I had our suspicions. The entire set up was way too unnatural. They purposely split us into groups so we would be easier to take down. But I still had a hard time believing that I could really defeat an immortal mage. The lights weren't very good, some of them flickering on and off and some just completely dead. We must have gotten the shortest hallway because we could see what looked like the end of the hallway. One of the lights was broken, but it was easy to see the wall.

"That's the end, but I see a door at the end as well…" reported Lucy as I tried to see through the darkness.

It took some time, but I finally did it. It was a steel door, much like the many we had passed on the way here. We were about to head towards it when we heard a sound that sounded like the cry of an animal. It was like the groan of steel, but it felt more…human. It seemed to echo throughout the tunnel and we hurried towards the steel door, the noise getting louder…and closer with each second. Lucy grabbed onto the steel door's handle, but we were completely surprised when the door opened on its own.

I froze when I saw who had opened it. I was looking into the face of the girl who we had seen on the way to Fairy Tail, Malice Southerland. She gave me a sad smile.

"Hello, Karis."

***Kory POV***

"I told you that you couldn't run, little boy." cackled an old voice as the figure stepped into one of the only activated lights in the hallway, arms of shadow scaling the walls of the corridor.

I stepped back towards the other working light, the horrible memory of the dying forest coming back to me. The old man with the three cornered house looked at me, his eyes closed. Wendy stepped forward, ready to challenge the old man. She had a determined look on her face and I remembered that her job was to protect me.

"I won't let you harm a member of Fairy Tail!" she shouted at the old man.

The old man chuckled at Wendy's words and the shadows stretched across the walls, coming off the walls like long ribbons of inky darkness, and grabbing Wendy's arms. They lifted her into the air and I tried to help her, but the ribbons wrapped around my left leg and my right arm, lifting me into the air. The old man smiled as the ribbon-like darkness unraveled from around our body parts and dropped us.

"We'll see who needs protecting…" cackled the old man as all the lights turned back on.

***Athena's POV***

I heard Justin let out a shout of pain and I immediately looked for him in the darkness. Justin was trying to keep the pain down, but I eventually found him, grabbing his shoulder and asking what was wrong.

"E-Everything suddenly hurts! What's going on!" screamed Justin as Erza suddenly tensed, sensing something.

"Someone is walking down the hallway!" she said as she drew her sword, holding it in front of her.

I tried to keep Justin quiet as I told him everything was going to be ok. He tried to keep his grunts of pain as quiet as possible, and the voice echoed through the tunnel.

"There was once a man named Luscious. He wanted strength, and he bargained with the Goddess of Death. He acquired great power, and went almost insane with it."

Footsteps were heard, getting closer with each second. Erza took a step backwards, concentrating on what was about to happen. I felt my heart slam in my throat as the footsteps got closer. Justin's eyes were wide with terror as well.

"However, he was eventually defeated. Luscious was a member of the Court of Nine, and his rampage sparked a small civil war in the court. We tried to keep the conflict minimal, but it didn't work, and eventually, a small little fight happened…" said the voice, a mocking tone in his voice.

Without looking at us, Erza ordered me to drag Justin into the nearest room. I looked around for a steel door. I found one that was close to us, but would it even open?

"Hurry!" hissed Erza as I nodded frantically, dragging Justin towards the steel door.

I gripped the cool handle and pulled it open, a horrible screech echoing through the tunnel. Without thinking about how dark it was inside the room, I dragged Justin inside and we shivered inside the room, trying to avoid detection.

"I was scared, and I devoured Luscious. I also devoured the judge, Jasif."

"Who are you! Show yourself, coward!" I heard Erza roar.

There was the sound of a light flicking on and then the voice spoke in its worst voice, a voice that sent shivers going down our spines.

"My name is Hudson, and I will be devouring all of you."

…

**Well, it isn't the best chapter, but it had to be done. It's just the set up chapter. I'm going to be going writing a fight each chapter by the way. I don't have much to say because I'm kinda tired after writing this. I'm sorry if you didn't like it, but it was necessary for the future chapters. See you all later! FF**


	11. The Dragon From Another Dimension

**Sorry for the short wait for this chapter. I'm trying to space out my updates so I don't overwhelm you guys with updates. This chapter took much longer than it should have because I kept messing up who was with who. I also found it difficult to write a fight scene with someone who was immortal, but I decided to take the challenge. It was actually lucky that I had Garret because he had a sword. **

**Just a warning here, the fight scene gets pretty gory, especially with Fahmak being immortal. **

**Like I said, the fight was a little bit difficult, but I'll try to have it longer than a thousand words. Anyways, here's the chapter. Enjoy.**

Natsu and Garret stared at the man with a look of surprise on their faces. The orange glow of the fire the man held in his hand illuminated the small section of the tunnel, and Natsu's face was shocked. Garret looked frozen as well as the man laughed at their surprised faces.

"I guess it's a little unfair to call myself your father. To be specific, I am your foster father's mirror image." explained the man as Natsu realized what he was saying.

"That means you're-"

"That's right," the man chuckled as he looked at Natsu, his eyes reflecting the flames. "I am the Edolas version of your father, Igneel. Call me Fahmak by the way."

Garret was confused by all of this talk about Igneel and Fahmak. Was he really the mirror image of the dragon named Igneel? Natsu looked angry as he took a step towards Fahmak, the swordsman having rested his sword on his armor plated right shoulder. He looked smug as Natsu stabbed an accusing finger at the immortal mage.

"Then it's your fault. It's you who has been burning all the fields!" shouted Natsu angrily as Fahmak smiled and laughed.

Without warning, the sword slammed down onto the ground, Natsu stepping back, grabbing the side of his face. A tiny bit of blood could be seen on the wide and flat blade as Fahmak observed it like a gem or some great work of art. Garret grit his teeth and he reached for his sword.

"Yep, it was me. You want to know why I did it?" Fahmak as he leaned into Natsu's face, grinning darkly.

"It's because I _love _fire. The towns and fields that got burnt? That was just collateral damage. Trust me, they were just another casualty in a war that's too large for a simple minded person like you to understand." said Fahmak darkly as he leaned out of Natsu's face observing Garret as he drew his sword slowly. "What are you going to do with that, kid? You think you can beat me at swordplay? I know exactly who you are, and I know that you're one of the few people who can kill me. I won't even let that blade touch me."

Garret put his best face on, which was not hard to do. He was slightly scared, but he was more excited than scared. He already had a plan in his head. The only problem would be to get Natsu to go along with it, but the fire dragon slayer's wild style could come in handy.

"Oh, yeah? You might be surprised what I can do with this blade and my magic." shot back Garet as Fahmak scoffed.

The swordsman was distracted by Garret's words that he didn't see Natsu's punch coming. The flaming fists slammed into the swordsman's face, sending Fahmak stumbling back, grabbing his face with his left hand, sword ready in the other. Garret took this opportunity to grab one of the amulets that he kept attached to his belts and tapped it, the amulet glowing. The tunnel's lights snapped on at that second, Natsu going in for another punch. Fahmak removed his hand from his face, the burn marks already fully healed. He grinned as he dove straight in for another punch to the face, but this time punching Natsu as he was hit, the knife still in his fist.

The force blew the two back, Natsu shrugging the damage off, and Fahmak standing back up, twisting the knife in his hand. He didn't even notice Garret as the amulet glowed, and a huge knight in a suit of armor holding a huge shield and a sword appeared in front of Garret. Fahmak seemed to get scared at the sight of the huge knight and he took a step, body visibly shaking. Natsu took advantage of this, getting ready for an attack that could hopefully send Fahmak slamming into a nearby wall.

"W-What is that! N-No, not that again!" screamed the immortal swordsman as he threw the knife at the knight.

The knight easily blocked the knife, a wave of flame bursting straight in the knight's face. Garret was surprised by Fahmak's reaction. Why had he seemed afraid of the titan? Meanwhile, Natsu unleashed a wave of fire, slamming straight into Fahmak. Garret was hopeful for the results, but he was disappointed when he saw Fahmak standing perfectly still, not a single wound on his body.

"You're going to have to do better than that! Try it again, I dare you!" roared Fahmak as he charged forward, sword ready to cut through Natsu's body.

Garret watched as the fire dragon slayer used his roar once again, the fire rushing towards Fahmak. Then, the immortal swordsman did the unthinkable. He swung the sword, and cut the fire! The sword moved incredibly fast, a whirlwind of razor sharp steel as he cut the fire, the flames shrinking away as Fahmak passed through them.

"Paul, help Natsu!" shouted Garret as the huge knight dashed towards where Natsu was, thrusting its shield out in front of Natsu.

The shield made it just in time. Almost as soon as the shield arrived, the blade slammed straight into the steel shield, a horrible clanging noise echoing through the tunnel. Garret and Natsu held their breath as the shield held, but then Garret noticed something strange about Fahmak's blade. The fire had left the blade red hot in some places, and there seemed to be strange markings on the blade. When Garret realized that Fahmak's blade was runed, Paul's shield was shattered like glass, sending the two slamming onto the ground.

"You surprised me with your tin man, but that surprise doesn't linger in me. I'll tear every single one of your freaks to shreds, and when I'm done with you, I'll devour you!" shouted Fahmak as Paul quickly stood up, engaging in a sword fight with Fahmak.

Garret quickly ran over to Natsu while the two fought with swords, and Garret grimaced as Paul's sword shattered against the immortal's blade.

"His sword is runed, Natsu! The only way we can defeat him, is if we cut him up enough for him not to move, and I'll have to devour him before he can reform! Can you create a large wall of flames so we can hide our advance?" Garret asked as the screech of metal being torn filled the tunnel, Natsu grinning and nodding.

The two turned in time to see Fahmak destroy Paul's body, the armored knight vanishing. Garret gritted his teeth as he tapped one of his most powerful amulets. Natsu's fists burst into flame once again and Fahmak pointed the sword at the two Fairy Tail mages. He grinned as one of the runes on the sword glowed dark green.

"At least you guys are stronger than those Saber Tooth brats! The Runed Sword: Spikes!" Fahmak shouted as hundreds of spikes shot towards the two mages.

Natsu tried to dodge the spikes, but before he could go anywhere, a large shield was placed in front of him, blocking the spikes from even reaching him. There was a cry of extreme pain as Garret fell to his knees, several of the spikes sticking out of his body, blood staining the yellow tunic he was wearing. Natsu looked at who had blocked the spikes, and he saw a man wearing the Purgatory Armor with short silvery black hair. The man looked at Garret with concern.

"Garret, are you ok?" asked the man as Garret wiped the blood away and stood up, still clutching his sword.

"I'm fine, Titan. It's going to take more than a few spikes to take me down!" shouted Garret as Fahmak smirked.

"You've got spirit. Don't fold on me just yet! The Runed Sword: Wind Breaker!" shouted Fahmak as blades of wind flew towards the group, Titan quickly blocking the attacks in front of Natsu.

Garret wasn't hurt by the sword's attacks, but that was just the first stage. The air began rapidly expanding, causing small explosions, sending Garret flying back, immense pain shooting through Garret's body. Titan grimaced as he held the explosions at bay, Fahmak laughing. Natsu looked where Garret had fallen and shouted at him.

"What are you doing protecting me! You should be protecting yourself! You're the only one who can beat him!"

Garret smiled at Natsu's words and slowly stood up, sword at the ready. He stared Fahmak down and glanced at Natsu and Titan.

"Natsu, are you ready? I may be the only person who can defeat him, but I can't do it alone. Even with Titan, this plan would fail. So, are you ready?" Garret asked seriously as Natsu gave Garret a grin.

"I'm always ready! Let's do this! Roar of the Fire Dragon!" shouted Natsu as he let out a massive wall of fire, filling the entire tunnel.

In the instant that the fire filled the tunnel, Titan took off, diving straight into the wall of fire. Garret charged forward with Natsu, ready to take the immortal swordsman down. Through the huge wall of flame, Fahmak saw the shape of someone charging through and raised his sword to meet the attacker. Titan burst through the wall of fire, Fahmak's eyes growing wide with fear and surprise.

"You!" shouted Fahmak as he clashed blades with Titan, the two engaging in a sword fight that strained even Titan's incredible skill.

The Runed Sword flashed wickedly as it cut straight through Titan's sword, the heavy thud of the sword ringing throughout the tunnel. Fahmak held the sword up and smiled.

"Even with your incredible strength, you can never beat my sword. It's called the Runed Sword, but I prefer the name Razor Sw-"

_SHINK_

The scream of pure pain echoed throughout the chamber as Fahmak's left arm fell to the ground, completely severed. The swordsman didn't have time to react before being hit in the face with Natsu's flaming fist, the immortal sliding across the ground, a trail of blood spreading across the floor. Garret and Natsu acted quickly, Titan returning to Garret's belt. The immortal healed quickly, and was on his feet in seconds. However, the immortal's screams filled the tunnel again as Garret once again severed the immortal's arm. This time, he severed both, Natsu knocking him down on the ground. Garret grabbed Fahmak's head as he lay on the ground, the limbs slowly forming around the immortal. Fahmak's entire body was covered in blood, and he didn't seem at all scared as he looked into Garret's eyes.

"Go on, do it! You defeated me, goddess knows how. Now all you have to do is think in your tiny little head 'I want to eat*'. Then, I'll die." said Fahmak calmly, almost happily.

Garret stood there for a while, his hand on Fahmak's head, not sure what to do. While Garret was thinking, Fahmak's limbs reformed, the blood removing itself from the swordsman's clothes. Once the limbs had reattached themselves, Fahmak scoffed and sighed.

"Looks like you don't have the heart to kill another human being." sighed Fahmak as he tried to stand up.

Garret slammed the swordsman back down on the ground, his expression one of anger. Natsu watched with interest as Fahmak stared back up at Garret, a half smile on his face. His sword was lying on the ground, his arm limp on the ground.

"You aren't human. If you really believe destruction and killing is a good thing, you aren't human. This is your punishment." said Garret seriously, Natsu watching in interest.

'_I want to eat!'_

"Excellent." smiled Fahmak as he suddenly froze, and then fell to the ground, unmoving.

Garret stepped back and looked at his right hand. Fahmak didn't have any wounds, but somehow…Garret had killed him with a single thought. But for some reason, Garret felt different. He felt more confident in wielding a sword, and he picked up the sword that once belonged to Fahmak, and Garret turned to Natsu.

"Well, that's one down."

…

**There's the chapter guys. I have a small twist coming up in the next chapter so be looking forward to that!**

**References: *this is a reference to Baccano, the anime where I got the idea for the whole "immortal" idea. The immortal characters in the show can devour each other by thinking that phrase, their hand on another immortal's head. However, unlike in this story, the devoured characters in Baccano completely disappear into the immortal who devoured them. **

**And that's about it. I'm pretty tired so I'll just leave it right here. FF**


	12. The Storm Mace

**I'm sorry about the sort of long wait for this chapter, but I was really busy with stuff going on like my grandpa's brother's 80****th**** birthday. I try not to post on Sunday. Not much to say really. Let's get on with the story. **

***edit**

**Sorry about the ridiculous wait for this chapter. I lost my inspiration for writing, and I was at band camp, which meant I couldn't update at all. I promise I will try to keep up with you guys. Hopefully, you haven't forgotten about me ^-^**

Karis and Lucy stepped back as Malice stepped into the corridor, the steel door sliding shut behind the immortal girl. Both Fairy Tail mages were completely surprised by Malice as she stood in front of them, Malice's green eyes looking at them with little to no emotion.

"I know you're surprised to see me here, but it still doesn't change the fact that I have to stop you. It's regrettable that things ended up this way, but a fight is inevitable. Whoever wins, will devour the loser, and then life will go on." said Malice almost robotically.

Karis just looked at her, a pained expression on her face. Was this truly the same girl they had met on the road? How has she changed so much? Karis was about to say something when Lucy stepped forward. The celestial mage looked calm and collected as she spoke to the immortal girl.

"I understand a fight is inevitable, but why do we have to devour you if we win?" Lucy asked, a sad expression coming on Malice's childlike face.

"Fear," answered Malice, looking directly at Karis. "Fear is why you must devour me. All immortals are driven by fear. They are afraid of being devoured. Karis, you have the ability to devour me, and therefore, I must devour before I am devoured. It's the never ending cycle of fear that Luscious created."

Lucy nodded her head and looked down at the ground, a defeated look crossing her face. Karis sighed and decided to ask Malice about what was really going on.

"Malice, you might be an immortal, but why do you look so young? Why would someone so young be chosen to become an immortal?" Karis asked.

"The Court of Nine was supposed to be made up of those from different situations. They needed someone who was young, so they chose me. They needed someone who was old, so they chose Noland. They needed someone who valued human life, so they chose Father Ryuusaga. They needed someone who didn't value human life, so they chose Hudson. They needed someone who had it all but would lose it, so they chose King Mason. They needed someone who lost it all, but would regain it, so they chose Luscious. They needed someone who couldn't express any emotion, so they chose Jasif. They needed someone who expressed emotions quite frequently, so they chose Fahmak," Malice explained as Karis and Lucy nodded their heads. However, Malice had only mentioned eight people. Lucy and Karis had been told that there were nine members of the original group of immortals.

"W-What was the last person's condition?" Lucy asked, wanting to know.

The air seemed to grow heavier, and Malice's face grew dark as she answered Lucy's question.

"Lastly, they needed someone who could control. They chose Bauer. In truth, he is the real leader of the immortals. He holds the power to control all of us, yet he does not use it. He watched over us, observing our actions. Hudson may appear to be our leader, but his strength is nothing compared to Bauer's ability to manipulate. Bauer is the only one who can initiate the purge, and not a single person besides me knows of this fact." said Malice darkly as Karis remembered back to when they had first met Malice.

She had asked about someone who was her guardian! That was Bauer! Karis and Lucy looked at each other and nodded. It was obvious that it was time to begin the fight that was obviously approaching. Malice saw the two of them tense up and she smiled, the first smile since she had met the two Fairy Tail mages.

"You two put me at ease, despite my natural fear. This is a good sign. It will make me easier to defeat and to devour." said Malice calmly as a mace appeared in her hand.

The mace appeared to be incredibly heavy, and it was flanged, the steel head of the weapon being at least twice the size of Lucy's fist. It was made of steel and Malice rested the head of the mace on the ground. Lucy took out a golden key and raised it into the air, Karis preparing to fight against Malice as well.

"Open, the Gate of Capricorn!" shouted Lucy as the celestial spirit appeared out of its gate, staring Malice down, his sunglasses hiding his eyes. The celestial spirit mage looked at Karis. "I'll take the first shot!"

Before Karis could respond, the celestial spirit shot forward with incredible speed, his body becoming a blur as Malice raised the mace with ease. She wasn't fast enough. The force of Capricorn's attack was enough to create a sizeable dent in the concrete walls, but the attack struck flesh and bone, the immortal girl smashing into the wall, slumping against the concrete wall, blood slowly pooling around her. Karis gritted her teeth, and Lucy looked away. Capricorn glanced at Lucy, his voice neutral.

"I'm sorry, miss. She was a threat to you and your friend, so I had to use extreme force. Please f-"

"No, it's not over yet."

The three mages looked at Malice in surprise. Their eyes widened as they saw the small girl stand back up, the blood quickly disappearing. Malice returned their surprised looks with an almost insane grin. She lifted the mace, and pointed the deadly head at Lucy. Capricorn put his fists back up, preparing for another attack.

"You will never devour me. I will devour you!" shouted Malice as Capricorn dashed forward, repeating the same forceful attack.

The immortal mage didn't blink an eye as she slashed the mace in the empty air with incredible speed, keeping the grin on her face as Capricorn fell to the ground, grabbing at several wounds. The celestial spirit seemed to be in serious pain despite being immortal.

"Capricorn, are you alright?" shouted Lucy as the celestial spirit grabbed the wounds, Malice looking at the two Fairy Tail mages.

"I-I must retreat. I'm sorry, my lady!" replied Capricorn weakly as his form faded away, Lucy's hands tightening into a fist.

Karis slowly made her way to the front, reaching for two amulets. She was completely focused on Malice. To be honest, she was scared out of her mind to be fighting someone who couldn't be killed. She was an S-Class mage, but an immortal mage? Karis wasn't sure, but she certainly wasn't going to show fear. She pulled the amulets out, a brilliant burst of light coming from the amulets. Malice took a step back from the incredibly bright light, as two figures appeared, standing in front of Karis. One was a blonde woman wearing a white dress, angelic wings protruding from her back, and the other was a small boy in purple armor, wearing a helmet over his face.

"I think it's time I showed you what I can do. You don't scare me! Raphael, Gabriella, avenge Capricorn!" shouted Karis as the titans prepared to attack, Gabriella producing a golden bow, stringing several arrows, and a large purple sword appearing in Raphael's hand.

The two titans were about to attack when suddenly there was a third flash of light, the well-dressed form of Loke joining them. The handsome celestial spirit adjusted his sunglasses, and smirked as he looked at Malice.

"She's the one who defeated Capricorn? Well, Lucy, you've found yourself a very strong opponent." said Loke confidently as Lucy nodded her head, tightening her fists.

"She's immortal, so you can't kill her! Try to make it so she can't move anywhere!" shouted Lucy, not wanting to really hurt Malice.

The celestial spirit nodded, and the three attacked. They moved quickly, Gabriella releasing her arrows, rays of light flying towards the immortal mage. Loke and Raphael charged forward, ready to attack the immortal. Malice reacted quickly to the attack from Gabriella. A single swing of the mace was enough to send a few of the rays of light flying away, but some struck the wall behind the immortal, cracking the concrete. However, she was not fast enough to dodge Loke's fist of light, the attack slamming straight into Malice's stomach. The immortal swung the mace as she skid backwards, a blade of wind cutting Loke's right arm.

"She's pretty good, but she's not fast. I believe I've found her weakness." said Loke coolly as he charged forward, fists glowing.

The celestial spirit charged forward, smashing his fist into the immortal's face as she was getting back up, the blood disappearing from the floor and walls. Malice smashed against the wall once more, and Loke looked victorious, until he felt a sharp pain. He stumbled back to look where the pain was coming from. Blood dripped from Loke's chest, the mace's flanged blades cutting through his chest. Malice grinned and leaned into the celestial spirit, and whispered darkly.

"You may have found my weakness, but can you even exploit it? Blade of Wind."

The reaction was immediate. Loke was blown away, sliding across the ground, leaving streaks of blood on the concrete floor. Lucy and Karis were completely stunned by the sudden show of force. It was like her personality had dramatically changed! Loke slowly stood up, spitting out blood as he turned to looked at Lucy, his face bloody, but burning with anger.

"Lucy, I don't think any of us can really beat her. We're going to have to buy Karis enough time to finish her off. Use the magic of the stars." said Loke seriously as Malice swung the mace once again.

Immediately, the room was filled with flailing blades of wind, cutting up the walls of the tunnel. Loke tackled Lucy to the ground as soon as the attack started, and Raphael blocked the blades with his sword, protecting Karis. The S-Class mage looked down the tunnel where Malice was standing, swinging the mace. Something seemed odd to her. It seemed as if the immortal mage was not truly there. The blades disappeared, and Lucy called back Loke, opening Gemini's gate, the twin celestial spirits appearing, and turning into a copy of Lucy. The celestial spirit locked hands with her copy, and she looked at Karis.

"Karis, I'm going to use the strongest move I have. This will hopefully knock her down enough for you to finish her off. I didn't want Malice to die, but I don't think we have a choice. This is my final attack. If this fails, it's all over! Urano Metoria!" screamed Lucy, incredible light gathering around her body, Karis forced to look away from the bright light. Lucy seemed to go into a trance as she chanted, the light growing around her.

Malice seemed to recognize the spell, and she swung the mace back and growled like an animal as she smashed it into the ground, the ground splitting from the force.

"You will not devour me! Hurricane Gale Force!" screamed Malice as the entire hallway seemed to twist as howling winds appearing, speeding towards Lucy.

The entire room flashed green as the winds reached Lucy, but at that exact moment, the ultimate magic of the stars was released, sending light and cutting winds slamming into each other. Karis covered her eyes as Gabriella and Raphael shielded her from the forces of two incredibly powerful attacks. There was another flash of green light as Lucy was blown back, slamming into the ground, unconscious, and Gemini quickly returned to their gate. Karis uncovered her eyes to see Malice still standing, few wounds on her body. She was heaving, but still standing.

"Impossible…" said Karis, shocked to see Malice still standing after the incredible force of Urano Metoria.

The immortal took a step forward, but stumbled, Karis then realizing that the attack had taken a lot of strength from a small girl like Malice. She realized that now was the perfect time to end the fight and she ordered her two titans to fight. Gabriella shot her arrows, and all of them hit, Malice's blood pouring from the wounds, and Raphael swung his sword as he got up close, the blade slashing across Malice's chest, the girl falling to the ground, a pool of blood surrounding her. The three moved quickly, and the two titans held down Malice's arms, and the mace was kicked away. Karis knelt down next to Malice, ignoring the puddle of blood that was quickly disappearing. She was so young, but she was dragged into so much pain.

Soon enough, the immortal's eyes snapped open, her eyes looking around the room wildly. She saw Karis's face and smiled.

"It's finally over…please…end this all." whispered Malice as Karis tried not to look at Malice's sad face.

Tears threatened to spill as Karis looked away. Malice was whispering how to devour an immortal, but Karis wasn't listening. She was still having a hard time believing that the same nice girl they met on the way to Fairy Tail was lying on the ground, in so much pain. Eventually, Karis looked over to see Malice close her eyes, and whisper a couple more words before falling into what appeared be deep sleep.

"They came from the Mirror of Pain…."

…

**I'm still trying to get my writing back up, so this chapter wasn't as good. This story was originally supposed to be a standalone story, but I decided that there would be a sequel or something of the sort. I might have a one-shot tomorrow, I'm not sure. Anyways, sorry for the wait, and I hope you review, and I will see you all later! FF**


	13. The Purifying Sound

**Man, it feels weird to be writing for this story again. Hey, in case you forgot, I'm Fatherfail. I am returning to finish this story (hopefully) and also to end the story line I have created. There will probably be another storyline after I finish this one, but I'm going to have to post that storyline in a different section because all the canon characters will be long dead by then. This story will be ending in about 3-4 chapters including this one. The final story will probably be like 5-6 chapters long. **

***On a side note, I am approaching the two year mark since I joined the site (10-9-10) so expect a chapter no matter what. **

**I don't want to make ANs super long, so I'll get right to the chapter.**

…

The assault was vicious. The shadows seemed to cut straight through Wendy's attacks, completely deflecting them. I watched with a grim look on my face as Wendy's roar was torn to shreds by the tendrils of darkness lurking behind the old man who faced us. I let out a frustrated growl as I clenched my fists. Nothing was working! Wendy was using her magical power to protect me, but what was I doing?! I was doing nothing! I couldn't do anything! I felt the knot in my stomach grow more painful, and I let out a groan as I tried to find a way out.

The old man kept smiling, eyes closed, like he was mocking me. He stood motionless, and it was like he was daring me to charge towards him. He knew I was just dragging everyone down. It was an impossible situation. I couldn't use the roar, but I knew everything else. Problem was, everything else was a close range attack. That was when I saw Wendy turn towards me, fear in her eyes. She was shouting something. I tried to hear what she was saying, but the next thing I know, I'm flying through the air, smashing against the concrete wall, pain exploding through my body.

That wasn't even the worst part. What came after was worse. The tendrils turned on Wendy next, smashing the ground in front of her, forcing her to hop backwards right into a mess of inky darkness. I felt a feeling of pure dread run through my body, silencing my heart as I saw Wendy get smashed into the ground, thrown into the air, beaten into the walls, and then thrown like a chew toy. She landed with a sickening thud, and that's when I heard the laugh. It was a horrible, twisted laugh. It was the sound of the devil himself.

"I expected more from Fairy Tail's greatest mages. I must say I'm very disappointed. Why bother trying to defend someone who can't even pay attention to the battle? He's dead weight, and you know it." The old man laughed even more, taking off his three cornered hat, throwing it to the writhing tendrils of darkness.

The old man's hat disappeared into the darkness, and Wendy struggled to get up, looking at the old man with anger in her eyes. The old man scratched his full head of grey hair, still smiling. Wendy stood up, badly injured, breathing hard. I clenched my fists and I tried to find a way to help. I couldn't just run in there! I peeled myself off of the wall and stood, trying to stay calm. An incredible anger never seen before was bubbling up, as the old man's tendrils struck me again.

"…I'll make it quick. I don't want anyone to suffer through what I did to Father Ryuusaga. But then again, I was different back then. You would have seen that time can change you, and perhaps a few hundred years ago I would not have been so merciful." said the old man casually as the tendrils attacked Wendy yet again, the sky dragon slayer fending off several of them before being wrapped up in a cocoon of pure darkness.

My eyes seemed like they were on fire. I watched Wendy look at me, her eyes never even for a second showing fear. I envied her. I envied her strength in such a time. I remembered when I had been brave like her. That's when it hit me. As I watched Wendy look at me, I remembered who I was. I was Kory Ryuusaga. I was a mage of Fairy Tail! I stood up, shaking, fists ready. I ignored the terrible pain in my body, and I felt something inside snap. It was fear of death. I opened my eyes confidently, and I stared directly into the soul of the evil creature that dared to threaten my comrade.

"I'm not dead weight, and that was my friend you were throwing around like trash a few minutes ago. I won't let you get away with this. Light's Legacy: Light Dragon's Claws!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs as I dashed forward, both arms surrounded by blinding white light. The old man's eyes widened as I came closer, and I stared straight into his soulless eyes, unflinching as his tendrils descended upon me, their attacks not even scratching me as I smashed my attacks into the barrier the old man had created.

"Don't think you scare me with your lost magic. I'll leave your friend for now, but after I devour you, she'll suffer through hell! Dark Art: Pools of Ink!" shouted the old man as several tendrils surrounded me.

Bubbling liquid sprayed from the tendrils, covering me head to toe, but I didn't care. I was fighting an enemy! The liquid that had pooled onto the ground was black, and it smelled awful. It bubbled and hissed like acid, and my skin felt like it was burning off, but I smiled as a blast of white light obliterated the black liquid. The old man growled with anger as the tendrils slammed me with their sharp points, trying to penetrate my defenses. But I was invincible. I was too focused to fail.

"When you started to hurt me friends, this match was decided. It's over for you." I said calmly as I touched my palms together, smiling at the old man as he narrowed his eyes trying to figure out what I was doing.

The old man's eyebrows indicated that he knew what I was doing, and he let out a cry of anger as the entire corridor started to go dark, the tendrils blocking every single light source, covering all of the walls. A gigantic mouth emerged from the darkness, razor sharp teeth waiting to taste my flesh.

"You're bluffing. Nobody can use that spell besides Goldfinger*!" laughed the old man as I smiled even wider as my body started to glow.

"I'm sorry, Noland, but I'm disappointed by your ignorance." I said victoriously as the mouth scooped down towards me.

_~Ring…_

"Eat! Eat! Devour that stupid child!"

"The purifying sound: Bells!"

There was a horrible shrieking sound as the blackness covering the walls peeled off, illuminating the room. The tendrils trying to penetrate my Holy Shield were suddenly twisted into impossible shapes, and then exploded into pure water, flooding the room. The old man's entire body contorted, and then splattered across the concrete floor. I stood there, watching every little piece of Noland's body start to reform, and I took a deep breath, and grabbed the old man's forehead before he could regenerate his limbs.

"I want to eat."

Those words ended the nightmare I had been put through. The body of Noland turned to dust, and mixed with the water now covering the floor, and I turned to see Wendy smiling at me, her wounds starting to recover. She was trying to say something to me, but I said something back to her before she could finish.

"Thank you."

…

**Sorry this chapter wasn't that descriptive in terms of what Kory looked like and such. I just thought it was the perfect way to describe the fight. It was a little short, but I prefer short intense fights to ones that drag on for several chapters. **

**References:*Goldfinger is the only mage who can use this spell legitmately. Kory could only use this magic because Light's Legacy allows him to use all light magic used in the past if he is completely focused. **

**Hopefully you haven't forgotten about me. Anyways, I'll see you next time! FF**


	14. The Time Lord

**Hello everyone! Here's the new chapter I promised you earlier this week. This week was surprisingly busy, but I got through it. Unfortunately, this weekend will be infinitely busier than this one so little to no writing will happen. At best I'll brainstorm ideas. This is probably the second to last chapter unless I want to make a separate chapter for Erza's fight. Anyways, I'll get right into it. **

…

The corridor was only dark for a second more. The lights snapped on, and standing front of the two Fairy Tail mages was a man dressed in a Prussian Blue military coat, a picklehaube on his head. He was a stone faced man with brown eyes and a brown handlebar mustache. Gray and Mitsu tensed as the man folded his muscular arms, observing the two Fairy Tail mages.

"They sent a child to fight against me. They injure me with their arrogance." said the man calmly as Mitsu stepped forward.

"I'll show you what a simple child can do!" shouted Mitsu as a sword made of ice appeared in Gray's hand.

The ice mage charged forward first, swinging the sword down towards the muscular man's neck. Gray was confident that he had ended the battle in a single swing, but was shocked to see the man hand grab the sword, snap it in half, and smash his fist into Gray's stomach, sending the ice mage flying back to where Mitsu was standing. The man dusted himself off and looked at Gray as he stood up, grabbing his stomach.

"My name is Bauer, and I-"

"I don't care what your name is! Ice Make: Hammer!" shouted Gray as a huge block of ice smashed down onto Bauer.

Instead of completely crushing him, Bauer raised a single fist into the air, the huge block of ice smashing into tiny pieces of ice with a single touch of his fist. Gray and Mitsu took a step back. Gray's techniques were formidable, but this man, Bauer, was something else. He had deflected every attack!

"You're fighting with just your fists? That was just the first round! Ice Make: Wave!" shouted Gray as jagged icicles smashed across the floor, heading right towards Bauer.

The immortal didn't even take a step backward as he grabbed two icicles, and snapped the entire wave in half. The pieces of ice fell to the concrete floor and quickly melted, evaporating faster than physically possible. Gray and Mitsu watched the immortal named Bauer stretch his arms, looking at the two mages with a sympathetic look on his face.

"Let me tell you two something few people know. Among the immortals, I am the strongest. I am the only immortal who can control all the other immortals with a single command. As the strongest immortal, I heal the slowest out of all of us." Bauer cracked his neck and raised his fists, steel blades sliding out of the cuffs on his sleeves. "Hudson was one gravely injured by a man by the name of Polganic*, and he appeared to be dead. The stronger an immortal is, the longer it takes to heal. Hudson took several decades to heal. If I was injured, it would take centuries for me to heal, and so, I make it a priority to never get injured. I toughened my body because the fists of men are weapons. You would do well to remember that." said Bauer wisely as Mitsu stepped forward.

Mitsu did not look happy. He was getting tired of all the sophisticated talk from Bauer. He looked towards Gray, and the ice mage nodded. They had to step up their game to even scratch Bauer. Mitsu and Gray charged forward, well aware of the risk. Gray sent several sharp disks of ice spinning towards the immortal, and Mitsu decided to use his own magic.

"Darkness Reign: Stalker's Shaodw!" Mitsu shouted as hundreds of shadows formed in front of him, shooting towards Bauer.

The two attacks were strong enough to rival that of an S-Class mage, but Bauer did not look impressed as he held out a hand.

"An impressive string of attacks, but not good enough. I can see that this level of magic is acceptable for an S-Class, but an S-Class could never lay a hand on me. Clockwork." said Bauer as a large gear appeared in front of him, opening up to reveal orange fire.

Mistu's and Gray's attacks looked as if they were about to slam through the gear, but the fire erupted from within the gear and turned the disks into little more than vapor, and the shadows melted away at the presence of intense orange flame. The gear closed itself, and disappeared. Bauer looked content, but noticed that Gray was missing. Mitsu had a grin on his face, and Bauer barely managed to turn around before Gray's sword of ice cut the side of Bauer's face, a single drop of immortal blood falling from his cheek. The immortal smiled at Gray as he held out his hand, ready to finish Gray off.

"Time Paradox!"

Mitsu felt something run through him, and then he threw up, his stomach twisting into a knot. The last thing he saw as Gray fall to the ground.

…

Mitsu woke up, his body still intact. He slowly sat up, realizing where he was. He looked down the corridor where Gray used to be, and he was surprised to see a small child that looked like Gray with the exact same hair. Bauer stood over the child, and he looked at Mitsu with a faint smile as the Ryuusaga stood up.

"You didn't have to fight me." said the immortal as Mitsu shook his head.

"I couldn't just let you trample over me or Gray. It would be disgraceful." replied Mitsu, Bauer smiling slightly.

The immortal walked towards Mitsu, leaving the child behind. Mitsu tensed as the immortal walked past him.

"The spell isn't permanent for your friend. I made sure it wouldn't last forever. If you were wondering about all these strange events…" said Bauer as he suddenly stopped. "I guess I have to tell you. We caused them. I caused clocks to run out of control, Hudson was the murderer, Malice caused the windstorms, Fahmak made the sun hotter, and last of all, Noland caused plants to die. Now if you excuse me, I need to see somebody."

And with that, the immortal walked away, leaving Mitsu with the child version of Gray Fullbuster.

…

**A short chapter, I know, but I didn't have much time and Bauer is way too strong for Mitsu and Gray to beat. From all the mages I have written about, only Goldfinger or a Nightmare Mage could even make a scratch on him. The fight would just be overly long if I even bothered to have Gray and Mitsu constantly attack him without a single chance of them ever hitting him.**

**References:*If you actually remembered this scene from The Silence Uprising then bonus points**

**Anyways, to make up for the short chapter I will post a new chapter in The Strength of Slayers because that story doesn't have spoilers for The Broken Road. Anyways, I will see you all later. FF**


	15. There is no End

**Well, here is the final chapter for this story! It's been a long journey. I really don't have much to say at this point, so here you go!**

…

Erza quickly changed into her Armadura Fairy armor, the strongest in her collection. The Titania drew her sword, pointing the tip at the demon who stood before her, smiling at her.

"I won't waste time with any other types of armor. I'll give you the best I've got, and don't even think about screaming mercy." growled Erza angrily as Hudson scoffed at her words.

"Do you really think I'm going to beg for mercy? It's you who will beg once I'm through with you! There's a reason I am the leader of the immortals!" laughed Hudson as Erza turned into a blur, disappearing completely.

The immortal's crazy grin disappeared as he looked around the hall, trying to figure out where Erza had gone. There was a metallic clang as a large section of the wall exploded, sending dust flying, clouding everyone's vision. Hudson coughed as he suddenly ducked, the dust being disturbed by something incredibly fast. The immortal stood, looked around the settling dust and laughed as he jumped into the air and flipped as the ground tore itself apart, a jagged crack running through the solid concrete.

"You'll have to do better than that, Scarlet!" laughed Hudson as he looked around with his mad, red eyes.

"Then how about this! Storm of Swords!"

The air was filled with swords as they slammed into the ground, driving their steel blades into the concrete. Hudson dodged several of the swords with ease, never even breaking a sweat. However, a look of uncertainty came upon the immortal's face as Erza appeared in front of him, sword in hand. Erza's face was one of pure anger as she drove the sword point straight through Hudson's body, the steel point emerging out the other side. The immortal let out a scream of pain as the sword exited his body, blood spraying from the sword wound.

Hudson fell back onto the concrete floor and his blood stained the grey concrete. Erza sheathed her sword and looked down at Hudson's bleeding body with contempt.

"You underestimated Fairy Tail's skill. If you thought you could actually challenge Fairy Tail and win, you were wrong." said Erza quietly as she turned to go check on Justin and Athena.

"**I have a fear of blades, Erza. A mistake many years ago created that fear. An immortal is driven by fear, and when faced with fear, an immortal grows strong."**

The eerily quiet voice was followed by a disturbing laugh, and Erza turned around quickly enough to see Hudson's body crack in half, a black humanoid form emerging from within. Erza stepped back and her face twisted in disgust as the strange creature that had come from Hudson's body quickly became Hudson once again, the immortal smiling back at her.

"You claim to be strong, but I wonder how strong you really are? Dark Arts: Ghastly Orbs!" said Hudson as hundreds of small black balls appeared in front of him, flying towards Erza with incredible speed.

The Titania ran forth to meet Hudson's attack, cutting the balls apart one by one. However, the orbs were quick, and more than a few struck her, exploding on contact. Erza let out a cry of pain as she smashed into the ground. The orbs had contained more magic than she had thought. Hudson waved his hand in the air and a small red crystal appeared in the air, dropping into his palm. Erza had started to charge him once again, this time sending several swords flying towards Hudson with her. The immortal moved quickly, taking the crystal and swallowing it. The air around Hudson glowed red, and the swords slammed into the air around Hudson, the blades twisting into tiny pieces of steel, dropping to the ground as useless balls of bent steel. Erza's eyes widened as she slashed her sword across Hudson's body, only to become paralyzed upon contact with the red air around Hudson.

"You ate it?! Are you insane?!" shouted Erza as Hudson smiled, holding up a hand.

"It's a terrible cancer, I know, but I'm immortal!" laughed Hudson as he pointed a finger at Erza, the immortal's eyes glowing red as he did so. "I'm not sure why you bothered to fight. You could never defeat me anyways! Ruby Palace: Execution!"

There was no cry of pain as Erza slid along the concrete floor, tearing the mangled concrete even more as she did so. Her armor was cracked, smoking in some places. Hudson walked with confidence towards her. He passed her, and glanced down at her body with grim satisfaction.

"That wasn't even full strength, Erza. I'll let you rest while I kill these pesky kids. I'll take care of you later." laughed Hudson as he gripped the handle of the steel door and pulled the door straight out of the wall, looking at the scared faces of Justin and Athena. "Oh, hello!"

…

Justin and Athena had heard the entire fight, shivering. Their hopes had risen when they heard Hudson scream, but when Hudson had returned, they were even more scared than before. Justin was shivering, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small lacrima he had taken before going to join Fairy Tail. He clutched it tightly and shut his eyes, trying to make everything go away.

They heard the fighting from outside and Justin opened his eyes to look at the lacrima, cursing his decision to join Fairy Tail. In the darkness, the lacrima appeared blue, like ice. Justin shivered some more and buried his head in his knees, trying to forget, hoping that Hudson would go away.

"_You can't hide forever, Justin. Look at Athena, Justin. She's not entirely scared. She's got a grip on her sword, ready to fight if she has to. Are you ready to die here?"_

The tiny voice in Justin's mind kept talking, and Justin could feel the tears coming. He was a coward and he knew it. He was no hero. But there was something within Justin that made him stop the tears and get angry. It was the thought of death, and Hudson threatening the safety of Athena and everyone else. He gripped the lacrima even tighter and looked up at the steel door, angry.

"Why should I die here? Who said I have to die here? Why should I die!" shouted Justin as he put the lacrima in his mouth, teeth clenching down on it to prevent him from screaming in sudden anger as he charged straight for the steel door.

"No!" cried out Athena as she drew her sword.

The door opened, and Justin charged straight into Hudson, knocking him over. Athena charged out the door with him, sword in the air. The immortal was surprised to see the sudden show of force, but he smashed his fist into Justin's face, sending the boy sliding across the ground. Hudson dodged Athena's sword and sent her flying with a flick of his wrist. Hudson rubbed his shoulder as he sneered at Justin slowly getting up.

"So you want to die quickly? Fine, I'll give you t-"

The immortal froze. Justin was walking towards him, limping, but otherwise unhurt. The look on his face was angry, but it was something totally different from what he had seen before. Hudson took a step back. There was no way the child had acquired a shard of the mirror. But then the realization hit him. The child had been chewing on something! Hudson let out a roar of rage as he charged towards Justin.

"There's no way! You stupid brat!" roared the immortal as he slammed into Justin.

But instead of knocking the boy over, Hudson found himself being flipped and then smashed into the ground with tremendous force, knocking the wind out of the immortal. He looked up into Justin's face to see anger.

"I'm not afraid of death anymore. So go on! Stab me, rip my body to shreds, or do whatever!" shouted Justin angrily as he slammed his foot down on Hudson's body, the impact making the immortal cough up blood.

Hudson tried to grab the boy's leg, but when he tried, his hand grew incredibly cold, like he was touching ice. The immortal howled as several more kicks came down on his body like a punishing rain. Then, a stabbing pain. The steel blade of a sword cut his skin to shreds and the immortal looked up to see the girl stabbing him with her sword.

"No! Y-you bastards!" screamed Hudson as he tried to get up, being smashed in the face with a fist, and slamming down into the concrete with a smack.

Where had the scared children gone?! Where had the pathetic mages gone?! Why was he being assaulted by confident mages?! The strength of his foot was not even from the shard! It was his own strength! The immortal let out a gurgle, and Hudson felt his strength ebb away as Justin threw him against a wall, a trail of blood smearing against the warped concrete. Hudson looked up at the mage who stood over at him with weak eyes. The immortal still had no idea how the tables had turned this way. The child moved to put his hand on his forehead, but the immortal managed to say something before Justin could do so.

"There will be more you know. Just because you kill me…doesn't mean it's the end. There will be more horrible things coming." laughed Hudson weakly.

"I don't care. Whatever horrible things come our way, the strength can be found to overcome them." said Justin as he placed his hand on the immortal's forehead.

Athena watched silently as the most horrible demon turned to ash, their nightmare ending with a single act of bravery. Justin turned to give Athena a weak smile. Their battle had been won.

**The Sanctum**

"There is no end. There is no end. There is no end. There is no end."

The constant string of words coming from Life's ancient lips made Vincent feel strange. The God of Evil had come upon Life mumbling to herself while walking through the Sanctum, and he was disturbed to say the least. Life seemed to be completely insane as she continued to repeat the same phrase over and over again. Eventually, Vincent backed up, a slight smile developing on his face. Evil walked away, a strange feeling in his body. Was this happiness?

"She's lost control! Oh, this is perfect…"

…

**Not too happy with this chapter, but I think I should leave it as it is because it took a while to write this chapter. I apologize for the sort of anti-climatic fight at the end, but I really lost inspiration at the end because I really couldn't figure out what else to do (kind of like Bioshock's ending). Anyways, I hope you had a good day, and I will see you all later! FF**


End file.
